At the Center of Research in the Western Pacific
Scientists from Tulane University’s Biodiversity Research Institute (TUBRI) collaborated with the University of Guam NSF EPSCoR Biorepository in April, leading a series of workshops focused on biodiversity technologies.
In 2024, Guam NSF EPSCoR senior researcher Christopher Lobban, Ph.D., received an award from the Japanese Society of Diatomology for his paper “Disymmetria reticulata, gen. nov., sp. nov. (Mediophyceae: Thalassiosirales), a new genus in Lauderiaceae emend., and transfer of Lauderia excentrica.” Lobban, a UOG professor emeritus of biology, is the first non-Japanese member of the organization to receive an award.
In April 2025, the University of Guam welcomed visiting researchers as part of an ongoing collaboration on the development of a new research instrument that can be used to assess the bleaching risk of different types of coral.
University of Guam NSF EPSCoR Graduate Research Assistant Lauren Kallen defended her Master’s thesis—a research project that represents the first study of its kind on Guam, focusing on understanding the population dynamics of Drupella fragum, a sea snail that feeds on coral tissue and can be found on shallow reef flats around the island.
The University of Guam NSF EPSCoR GECCO Biorepository has partnered with the Department of Invertebrate Zoology at the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., for the DNA sequencing of marine organisms.
As EPSCoR prepares for its fifth year of the Summer Math Research Program (SMRP), we take a look back at our 2024 program and its students.
From undergraduate students to faculty members, researchers from the University of Guam NSF EPSCoR program showcased their recent and ongoing projects at the 16th University of Guam Conference on Island Sustainability (CIS2025).
Born and raised in Greece by the Mediterranean Sea, Michalis Mihalitsis, Ph.D., gained an interest in fish as a child, fishing with his family and keeping aquariums in his home. He went on to study marine biology and earned his Ph.D. at James Cook University, studying the ecology of predatory fishes.
Off the shores of Guam is one of the most complex marine systems in the United States, home to thousands of organisms – many of which are still being documented and identified to this day. The Guam NSF EPSCoR GECCO Biorepository is part of an on-going effort to understand those organisms as well as their habitats.
Guam NSF EPSCoR welcomes 4 new undergraduate student researchers for 2025. Front Row (L-R): Ale’a Duenas, Napu Camacho, Diego Quiogue, and Maya Flores. Guam NSF