November 2024
MBRACE boasted an impressive showing at the Bays and Bayous conference in Biloxi November 19 and 20. See below for the list of MBRACE funded presentations:
Emma Coltman - Investigating the influence of phytoplankton size distribution on the success of Eastern oyster larvae in the Mississippi Sound: a modeling study
Jessica Pruett - Can we have our oyster and eat it too? Informing research and management priorities for recovery and sustainable use of oysters in Mississippi
Cassia Caballero - Monitoring water clarity in the Mississippi Sound with remote sensing and machine learning
Jordan Heiman - Bacterial Communities of Beaches along the Mississippi Gulf Coast
Stephanie Vaughn - Temporal and Spatial Variations in Marine Bacterial Communities along the Mississippi Gulf Coast
Jerry Wiggert - A Model-based Examination of how Interannual Trends in Riverine Inputs Impact the Hydrodynamics and Shellfisheries of Mississippi Sound
Brandy Armstrong - Development of a Daily Hindcast and Forecast Hydrodynamic Model for the Mississippi Sound and Bight
Elliot Butler - Understanding the seasonal variability of water quality in Mississippi Sound waters using in-situ measurements
Canhao Wang - Real Time Oyster’s Gaping Measurement System
Hameed Ajibade - Using a modeling approach to examine the impacts of the 2019 Bonnet Carre Spillway double opening on hydrodynamic and material exchange between the Mississippi Sound and Bight
Rejane Paulino - Evaluating PACE (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem) Spectral Consistency in the Coastal Waters of Mississippi
Jacqueline Pavlovsky - Daily Variation in Microbial Extracellular Enzyme Activity along the Mississippi Gulf Coast
Helen Olmi-Graham - Fostering Collaboration for Effective Gulf Restoration: MBRACE, MDEQ, and MDMR
MBRACE’s Jessica Pruett presented a poster entitled ‘Supporting sustainable oyster restoration and resource use through the Mississippi Based RESTORE Act Center of Excellence’ at the University of Southern Mississippi’s Research Day.
October 2024
MBRACE published an outreach publication describing our mission and research. The document can be viewed here.
The University of Southern Mississippi published a press release about MBRACE’s new Science Policy Fellow, Ashlynn Smith. The press release can be read at the link below:
https://www.usm.edu/news/2024/release/mbrace-ashlynn-smith.php
September 2024
MBRACE welcomes Ashlynn Smith, our new Science Policy Fellow. Ashlynn will be working with MBRACE for the next year. Read more about the National Academies of Sciences Gulf Research Science Policy Fellowship here: https://www.nationalacademies.org/our-work/science-policy-fellowship.
July 2024
Dr. Jessica Pruett’s oyster history article is being in featured in BioOne’s “Top and Trending Research” for July!
Linked here.
April 2024
Dr. Jessica Pruett’s review of the Mississippi Oyster Fishery was published in the Journal of Shellfish Research:
Pruett JL, Showalter Otts S, Willett KL, Fairbanks L, Darnell KM, Gochfeld DJ. 2024. A past, present, and future outlook on the Mississippi oyster fishery. Journal of Shellfish Research 43:1-13. Link
March 13-14 , 2023
The MBRACE All Hands Meeting took place at Jackson State University in Jackson, Ms. on March 13-14. Thank you to all that attended!
GOMCON February 2024
MBRACE members Kelly Darnell (Director), Helen Olmi-Graham (Program Manager), and Jessica Pruett (Postdoctoral Research Associate) attended the Gulf of Mexico Conference in Tampa, Florida. Helen and MDEQ member John Kwoka presented about fostering collaboration between MBRACE and the state agencies. MBRACE supported student James Klein presented on a chapter of his dissertation research about oysters.
February 1, 2024
USM and MBRACE officially announce $5 million in newly awarded funding with press release:
November 9, 2023
MBRACE participated in MDEQ’s Restoration Summit.
June 1, 2023
Dr. Jessica Pruett joined MBRACE as a postdoctoral research associate.
May 1, 2023
Dr. Helen Olmi-Graham joined MBRACE as the new Program Manager.
March 10, 2023
A press release was written up about our science policy fellow, Erin Oliver, and her experience with MBRACE so far. Check it out!
https://www.usm.edu/news/2023/release/erin-oliver-mbrace.php
February 16, 2023
MBRACE held its 2023 All-Hands Meeting at Jackson State University. This meeting brought together researchers from all of the currently funded projects as well as members of the ESC and EAG to learn about program and research updates as well as hear more about coastal management priorities from MDEQ and MDMR. These groups also discussed ways that they could better use their research to inform management decisions.
Graduate student James Klein from University of Southern Mississippi reports on the Optical Observation of Oyster Larvae project which is foundation for his thesis.
Dr. Kemal Cambazoglu of University of Southern Mississippi reports from a breakout group on ideas about co-production of research between scientists and resource managers.
Dr. Greg Easson of University of Mississippi presents his groups work on the Abiotic and Biotic Influences on Current and Historic Distributions of Oyster Reefs.
Dr. Huiru Shih of Jackson State University presents on his groups work on measuring oyster gape using remote sensing to evaluate environmental conditions related to oyster health.
January 18, 2023
MBRACE is currently hiring a program manager to carry out day-to-day activities of the Center, implement long-term plans, and coordinate among researchers, managers, and MBRACE staff. Apply at the link below by February 1st!
https://usm.csod.com/ats/careersite/JobDetails.aspx?id=3209&site=1
November 10, 2022
MBRACE had a booth at the 2022 MDEQ Restoration Summit. Researchers Alan Shiller, Chet Rakocinski, Amy Moody, and Kenny Bolster presented their work to local high school students as well as the general public.
September 6, 2022
Dr. Erin Oliver joined MBRACE as a National Academy of Sciences Gulf Research Program Science Policy Fellow.
June 3, 2022
The University of Mississippi Competitive Research Team published a policy brief through the National Sea Grant Law Center titled “Accounting for the entire oyster life cycle in restoration efforts: a brief for policy makers”.
April 25-28, 2022
Several MBRACE projects were presented at the Gulf of Mexico Conference in Baton Rouge including MBRACE administrators (“Supporting scientific discovery and science-based guidance for restoration and management through the Mississippi Based RESTORE Act Center of Excellence”), Jackson State University ("Using fourier transform to detest oyster's spawning"), and University of Mississippi (“Understanding the impacts of water quality stressors on early oyster life stages to inform oyster reef restoration efforts”)
April 12-14, 2022
Shreeya Bhattarai (Mississippi State University, Core Research Team) presented the preliminary results from the SWAT model calibration and validation for the Wolf and Jourdan River watersheds at the Mississippi Water Resources Conference.
February 3-4, 2022
MBRACE administrators hosted the 2022 All-Hands Meeting in Jackosn, MS where representatives from the research teams, MDEQ, and MDMR presented updates on their projects.
January 5, 2022
Publication Alert! The University of Southern Mississippi Core Research Team published their work in Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science.
Morgan LK, Rakocinski CF. 2022. Predominance of factors limiting the recovery of the eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) in western Mississippi Sound, USA. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science. 264. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2021.107652.
December 13-17, 2021
The University of Southern Mississippi Core Research Team presented their work at the American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting in New Orleans, LA.
Bell J, Cambazoglu K, “Validation of COAWST modeling system results for 2019 Bonnet Carré Spillway openings”.
Cambazoglu K. “Actionable science for natural resource management in Mississippi Sound: A case study with modeling of Bonnet Carré Spillway operation”
November 1-11, 2021
The University of Mississippi Competitive Grants Research Team presented two presentations at the Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation Conference (Virtual).
Pandelides AF, Keylon J, Pruett JL, Willett KL, Gochfeld DJ, “Impacts of water quality stressors associated with freshwater flooding on molecular endpoints in Crassostrea virginica”, Oral presentation.
Pruett JL, Pandelides AF, Keylon J, Willett KL, Showalter Otts S, Gochfeld DJ, “Integrating science and policy research to inform oyster reef restoration efforts in the Mississippi Sound”, Oral presentation.
November 9, 2021
MBRACE displayed a booth at the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality Restoration Summit at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum and Convention Center in Biloxi.
November 2021
Publication Alert! The University of Mississippi research team for the Competitive Grants Program published their work in the Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology.
Pruett JL, Pandelides AF, Willett KL, Gochfeld DG. 2021. Effects of flood- associated stressors on growth and survival of early life stage oysters (Crassostrea virginica). Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 544:151615 (doi:10.1016/j.jembe.2021.151615).
May 2021
Four undergraduate interns from across the southeast were awarded the Deepwater Horizon Memorial Internship. They will be spending this summer working on projects related to various MBRACE-funded projects.
February 18-19, 2021
MBRACE administrators hosted the 2021 All-Hands Meeting (virtual) where representatives from the research teams, MDEQ, and MDMR presented updates on their projects.
December 2020
MBRACE Deputy Director Luke Fairbanks presented at the virtual 2020 Bays and Bayous Symposium on MBRACE activities, research, and collaboration. Several of researched funded through the Core Research Program and Competitive Grants Program also presented at the Symposium.
August 25, 2020
MBRACE hosted an introductory webinar for researchers funded through the Core Research Program and Competitive Grants Program to provide an introduction to the MBRACE program and foster collaboration among the funded researchers.
March 2020
MBRACE awarded $2.75M in funding through the Core Research Program and the Competitive Grants Program for research on water quality and oyster reef sustainability. The press release can be downloaded here.
February 3-6, 2020
MBRACE administrators attended the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill and Ecosystem Science (GOMOSES) conference in Tampa, FL. MBRACE Director Kelly Darnell presented in the session “RESTORE Act Centers of Excellence Research Grant Programs – Filling Gaps in Gulf Research to Inform Policy and Management” and served on a panel, where she discussed MBRACE activities and collaborations. The theme of the conference was "A Milestone in Gulf of Mexico Research".
January 1, 2020
Dr. Luke Fairbanks joined MBRACE as the Deputy Director.
November 12, 2019
Administrators displayed a booth about the MBRACE program at the MDEQ Restoration Summit, and MBRACE-funded researchers participated in the Summit outreach event, engaging with local high school students about the oyster life cycle and oyster sampling techniques.
MBRACE researcher Chet Rakocinski (USM) and his graduate student Leah Morgan at the Restoration Summit outreach event.
USM graduate student Leah Morgan teaches high school students how to identify oysters on a settlement plate.
November 4, 2019
MBRACE Director Kelly Darnell co-chaired the session “New Insights in the Gulf of Mexico nine years after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill” at the 25th biennial Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation conference in Mobile, AL. The theme of the conference was “Responsive, Relevant, Ready”.
May 6, 2019
MBRACE Director Kelly Darnell presented on partnerships and collaborations facilitated by MBRACE at the MDMR “State of Our Coast” meeting in Biloxi, MS in the “Coastal Partnerships for Restoration” Panel. The theme of the meeting was “Power of Partnerships”.
May 1, 2019
Dr. Kelly Darnell appointed as MBRACE Director. Kelly held the position of MBRACE Deputy Director from January 2017 - April 2019.
February 4-7, 2019
MBRACE administrators attended the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill and Ecosystem Science (GOMOSES) conference in New Orleans, LA. MBRACE Deputy Director Kelly Darnell presented in the session “RESTORE Act Centers of Excellence Research Grant Programs – Gulf Research to Inform Policy and Management” and served on a panel, where she discussed MBRACE activities and collaborations. The theme of the conference was "Minding the Gaps: Research Priorities for Response, Restoration, and Resilience".
November 14, 2018
MBRACE administrators, Executive Steering Committee, External Advisory Group and Core Research Program PIs participated in meeting at JSU to discuss project progress and the future direction of MBRACE.
MBRACE Director, Denis Wiesenburg, provides background on the history of the Center of Excellence Research Grants Program (CERGP) to the ESC and EAG.
November 13, 2018
MBRACE displayed a booth at the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality Restoration Summit on November 13, 2018 at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum and Convention Center in Biloxi.
MBRACE administrators at the 2018 Restoration Summit. From left to right: Landry Bernard (MBRACE Chief Scientist) and Kelly Darnell (MBRACE Deputy Director).
MBRACE-funded investigators displayed technology used in their projects. From left to right: Kamal Ali (JSU), Robert Moorhead (MSU), Greg Easson (UM), and graduate student Jarett Bell (UM).
February 5-8, 2018
MBRACE administrators attended the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill and Ecosystem Science (GOMOSES) conference in New Orleans, LA and presented a poster on the MBRACE program. The theme of the conference was "Response, Restoration, and Resiliency in the Gulf." You can check out the MBRACE poster here.
October 25, 2017
MBRACE displayed a booth at the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality Restoration Summit on November 14, 2017 at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum and Convention Center in Biloxi. More information about the Restoration Summit can be found here.
MBRACE administrators at the 2017 Mississippi Restoration Summit. From left to right: Denis Wiesenburg, Diana Lovejoy, Kelly Darnell, Landry Bernard
September 1, 2017
MBRACE awards $2.5 million to researchers from The University of Mississippi, Mississippi State University, The University of Southern Mississippi, and Jackson State University under the Core Research Program. Projects are focused on understanding oyster reefs and their sustainability.
May 1, 2017
The agreement between The University of Southern Mississippi and the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality was executed to provide funds for MBRACE.
August 26, 2016
Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality receives the Notice of Award from the U.S. Department of the Treasury designating MBRACE as the Center of Excellence for Mississippi.