What happens to research in a time of isolation?

I know I've been away for a while, but social distancing has kept me from being in the lab working with the meiofauna and microplastics. However, I thought now would be a good time for an update, given that Florida seems to be partly rolling back on social distancing regulations.

I am exceptionally excited, and more so grateful, to announce that I was awarded a grant under the PADI Foundation. For those that don't know, the PADI Foundation is a California non-profit organization committed to improving human understanding of anthropogenic impacts on marine ecosystems, protection of coastal and marine ecosystems from global climate change, and improving general understanding of diving and dive safety.

The grant from the PADI Foundation will allow me to conduct my field work in Panama City Beach to assess the seasonal variation in microplastics pollution as well as to assess the overall concentrations of microplastics in sediments in the Gulf of Mexico. I will also be collecting data on differences between sites affected by human infrastructure and pristine sites to quantify the effects that humans have on benthic environments at the meiofaunal scale. To read more about the PADI Foundation and their work, please check out ​http://www.padifoundation.org/index.html

Although I cannot start my work immediately, I will hopefully be returning to the lab soon to conduct more sample preparation work. Following social distancing guidelines, of course, I will be working in isolation at the lab, but I would be happy to just get my hands on sediment and samples to sort through. I cannot thank my team for their efforts during this time: my PI, Dr. Jeroen Ingels, has kept the team up-to-date on guidelines at the lab and has provided deep-sea and benthic organism facts and games for us to play from afar. I think he's secretly trying to turn me into a deep-sea ecologist, but it's not happening. Also, a big thank you to Dr. Felicia Coleman and her team at the marine lab; they have been working to develop a potential plan for returning to research while still following social distancing guidelines.

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