Dr. Kathleen Daumer Cusick
Tenure-Track
Department of Biological Sciences
College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences
She/Her/Hers/Herself
About
I have a Master’s in Marine Biology and PhD in Microbiology. Combining these backgrounds, I use molecular tools to study the microbial ecology of coastal marine systems, with a special emphasis on harmful algal bloom ecology and evolution. My research is interdisciplinary in nature and spans the fields of microbial (including algal) genetics and genomics; molecular biology; environmental microbiology; ecotoxicology; and transcriptomics.
Research interests
ecology and evolution of harmful algal blooms; bioluminescence and toxin production in HABs; marine microbial ecology; marine biofilms; copper and antibiotic resistance in marine bacteria
Teaching interests
Microbiology; climate change; harmful algal blooms
Education
- Postdoc — US Naval Research Laboratory, Chemistry Division (2016)
- Postdoc — University of Tennessee (2013)
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Ph D, Microbiology
— University of Tennessee (2009) Proposed mechanism of action of saxitoxin in aquatic systems via molecular profiling in lower eukaryotes
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MS, Marine Biology
— Florida Institute of Technology/Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute (2000) Effects of dinoflagellate bioluminescence on the foraging efficiency of the flamefish Apogon maculatus
- BS, Biology — Dickinson College (1997)
Publications
- Toxin Dynamics among Populations of the Bioluminescent HAB Species <i>Pyrodinium bahamense</i> from the Indian River Lagoon, FL 2024
- Development of a real-time quantitative PCR assay for detection and quantification of the marine bacterium Alteromonas macleodii from coastal environments 2023
- Enhanced copper-resistance gene repertoire in Alteromonas macleodii strains isolated from copper-treated marine coatings. 2021
- Bioluminescence and Toxicity as Driving Factors in Harmful Algal Blooms: Ecological Functions and Genetic Capacity 2020
- Multiple megaplasmids confer extremely high levels of metal tolerance in Alteromonas strains. 2020
- Adaptation to copper stress influences biofilm formation in Alteromonas macleodii 2017
- Gene Expression Changes in Long-Term In Vitro Human Blood-Brain Barrier Models and Their Dependence on a Transwell Scaffold Material 2017
- Molecular Mechanisms Contributing to the Growth and Physiology of an Extremophile Cultured with Dielectric Heating 2016
- Single-cell PCR of the luciferase conserved catalytic domain reveals a unique cluster in the toxic bioluminescent dinoflagellate Pyrodinium bahamense 2016
- Differences in Physical and Biochemical Properties of Thermus scotoductus SA-01 Cultured with Dielectric or Convection Heating 2015
- Selection and Evaluation of Reference Genes for Reverse Transcription-Quantitative PCR Expression Studies in a Thermophilic Bacterium Grown under Different Culture Conditions 2015
- Suppressing the Neurospora crassa circadian clock while maintaining light responsiveness in continuous stirred tank reactors 2015
- The applicability of Impranil (R) DLN for gauging the biodegradation of polyurethanes 2015
- Intensity differences in bioluminescent dinoflagellates impact foraging efficiency in a nocturnal predator 2014
- Selection and Evaluation of Reference Genes for Expression Studies with Quantitative PCR in the Model Fungus Neurospora crassa under Different Environmental Conditions in Continuous Culture 2014
- An Overview on the Marine Neurotoxin, Saxitoxin: Genetics, Molecular Targets, Methods of Detection and Ecological Functions 2013
- Paralytic shellfish toxins inhibit copper uptake in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii 2013
- An overview of the ecophysiology, molecular biology, and ecological impacts of the toxic bioluminescent dinoflagellate Pyrodinium bahamense 2013
- Inhibition of Copper Uptake in Yeast Reveals the Copper Transporter Ctr1p As a Potential Molecular Target of Saxitoxin 2012
- Perturbation of FliL Interferes with Proteus mirabilis Swarmer Cell Gene Expression and Differentiation 2012
- Sphaerochaeta globosa gen. nov., sp nov and Sphaerochaeta pleomorpha sp nov., free-living, spherical spirochaetes 2012
- Transcriptional Profiling of Saccharomyces cerevisiae Upon Exposure to Saxitoxin 2009
- Saxitoxin dynamics underlying bloom development and persistence in the bioluminescent HAB species Pyrodinium bahamense.
- Linking Copper-associated signal transduction systems with their environment in marine bacteria.
- SxtA4+ and sxtA4- Genotypes Occur Together within Natural Pyrodinium bahamense Sub-populations from the Western Atlantic
Presentations
- Toxicity and bioluminescence in Pyrodinium bahamense blooms: The luminous lies of cheats 2025
- Toxicity and Underlying Transcriptional Dynamics Among Populations of the Bioluminescent HAB species Pyrodinium bahamense from the Indian River Lagoon, FL 2024
- Novel Mechanisms of Copper Tolerance in the Marine Bacterium Alteromonas macleodii 2019
- The Effects of Copper on Growth and Saxitoxin Production in the Harmful Algal Bloom Dinoflagellate Pyrodinium bahamense 2019
- Comparative genomics of cyclic di-GMP signaling in strains of the globally-distributed marine bacterium Alteromonas macleodii 2017
- Adaptation and evolution of a marine microbe following long-term exposure to elevated copper 2016
- Genomic and transcriptomic analyses to identify pathways involved in nanoparticle generation in the ubiquitous marine bacterium Alteromonas macleodii under elevated copper conditions 2016
- Adaptation to copper stress promotes biofilm formation in Alteromonas macleodii 2015
- Molecular mechanisms associated with anaerobic metal reduction in a thermophilic bacterium (Thermus sp.) 2015
Grants and Contracts
- Summer Research Faculty Fellowship 2018
- National Academies Post-doctoral Fellowship 2013
- NASA Graduate Student Researchers Program Fellowship 2005
- Sigma Xi Grant-in-Aid 1998
- Early Career Travel Grant
Research in Progress
- Exploring the Link between Toxicity and Bioluminescence in HABs 2019
- Horizontal gene transfer as a driver of copper resistance in marine bacteria 2018
- Intracellular Signaling in Alteromonas 2017
- Development of a genetic system for Alteromonas 2017
Courses Taught
- Intro Lab/Field Research
- Microbiology
- Res Sem in Molecular Biology
- Res Seminar in Molecular Biology