My name is Marcus Adams, I’m currently a senior at Old Dominion University working towards my B.S. in Biology. I started working as an intern in the phytoplankton analysis laboratory in May 2022. I primarily contribute to the Chesapeake Bay Program by identifying and counting autotrophic picoplankton through epifluorescence microscopy, and preparing phytoplankton samples for taxonomic enumerations under brightfield. I have also initiated a new project with the FlowCam, a recently acquired flow imaging microscopy instrument. I am assisting with the development of the standard operating procedures (SOP’s) to be used by the Phytoplankton Analysis Laboratory to incorporate this technology into their monitoring projects focused on building a regional library of phytoplankton of the Chesapeake Bay. This will be used not only to classify common species, but also to detect less common and potentially toxigenic harmful algae species like Dinophysis & Pseudo-nitzchia), both of which are of public health concern as they are the causative agents in shellfish syndromes. Overall, my experience here has further solidified that this is the type of work I will be pursuing outside of college. The knowledge and skills I’m gaining from this internship only pushes me further in becoming both a successful researcher and lab technician in my future field.
