HARBOR BRANCH - OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE

AN OCEAN OF MICROBES

The oceans contain a dizzying diversity of microorganisms that have a profound influence on the health of the ocean, humans and the planet. Nonetheless, scientists are only just beginning to understand this microbial world, and the potential benefits it offers to humans. On Wednesday, March 22, for the next event in the 2006 Harbor Branch Ocean Science Lecture Series, Peter McCarthy, head of the Harbor Branch Microbiology Program, will discuss the various roles played by microorganisms in the sea and the ongoing search for those species that produce chemicals with the potential to cure human diseases.ÊÊHe'll describe some of Harbor Branch's greatest successes in this search as well as important advances made at Harbor Branch and elsewhere in culturing microorganisms in the laboratory, a critical first step in tapping their benefits. Historically only about 1% of microorganisms could be grown in the laboratory using standard techniques, meaning both that great challenges remain and that, in all likelihood, great benefits remain to be discovered as techniques improve.

SPEAKER BACKGROUND Dr. Peter McCarthy is the associate director of the Harbor Branch Division of Biomedical Marine Research and, since 1996, the Head of the Microbiology Program. He is also an affiliate professor in the biology department at Florida Atlantic University.ÊÊHis group is responsible for maintaining the Harbor Branch microorganism collection, which contains some 17,000+ specimens in an ultra-cold freezer at the institution's "hurricane proof" bunker . Many of these samples were collected using the institution's deep-diving Johnson-Sea-Link submersibles. No other microbiology group in the world has the regular access to the deep sea afforded by the submersibles, making the collection truly unique and invaluable in the search for new drugs from the sea.ÊÊMcCarthy was trained as a microbiologist in England and received his Ph.D. from the University of Kent at Canterbury. Following a two-year postdoctoral appointment with Smith Kline and French in Philadelphia, he joined Harbor Branch in 1985. He has over 40 publications in the scientific literature and is an inventor on nine U.S. Patents held by Harbor Branch.

DETAILS McCarthy's talk, "An Ocean of Microbes: Microbial Influences on Planetary and Human Health," will be held in the auditorium of the Johnson Education Center on the Harbor Branch Campus, 5600 US 1 North, Ft. Pierce, Fla. at 4:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, March 22. All talks in the Ocean Science Lecture Series are free to the public and followed by a free reception. A cash bar is available before and after the 7:00 p.m. talk.Ê Please direct press inquiries to Mark Schrope at 772-216-0390 or schrope@hboi.edu. General questions about the series should be directed to the Marine Education Office at 772-465-2400 ext. 506 or education@hboi.edu.

HARBOR BRANCH Oceanographic Institution was founded in Ft. Pierce, Fla., in 1971 to support the exploration and conservation of the world's oceans. The institution has held to this mission and grown into one of the world's leading oceanographic institutions with a 500-acre campus, over 200 personnel, and a fleet of sophisticated research ships and submersibles.