UMBI's President and Faculty Write Report
on Marine Microbial Diversity

Washington, DC - The American Academy of Microbiology (AAM) Critical Issues Colloquia series recently released a report based on a colloquium held from April 8-10, 2005 in San Francisco California. The report, entitled "Marine Microbial Diversity: The Key to Earth's Habitability," was prepared by Dr. Jennie Hunter-Cevera president of UMBI, Dr. Naomi Ward from the Institute of Genomic Research, Dr. Feng Chen of UMBI's Center of Marine Biotechnology and Dr. Russell Hill also from UMBI's Center of Marine Biotechnology. The study briefly outlines how life on Earth may owe its existence to microorganisms living in the oceans, while the effects of human activities on the vital services these microbes perform remain largely unstudied. To view the report click HERE.

Microbial residents of the world’s oceans have helped make the biosphere the bustling, thriving place it is today. Also, given that life on this planet most likely began in water, marine microbes may have been the first forms of life on earth and, hence, the progenitors of all living things, a distinction that puts marine microorganisms in a key position in the saga of evolution.

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Celebrating our 20th anniversary year, UMBI is Maryland's premier biotechnology research institute within the University System of Maryland and was established in 1985. The University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute (UMBI) consists of five major research and education centers and is dedicated to advancing the frontiers of biotechnology. UMBI’s centers of research include: CARB, the Center for Advanced Research in Biotechnology located in Rockville; CBR, the Center for Biosystems Research located in College Park; and COMB, the Center of Marine Biotechnology, MBC, the Medical Biotechnology Center, and IHV, the Institute of Human Virology, all located in Baltimore. For more information, visit www.umbi.umd.edu