Christopher A. Scholin

Chris Scholin is a native of St. Louis, Missouri. He received a B.A. in Biology from the University of California, Santa Barbara, in 1984, and an M.A. in Molecular Biology and Immunology from Duke University in 1986. After working for a short time as a Research Assistant Professor at the University of South Carolina at Columbia, Chris entered the Massachusetts Institute of Technology – Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (MIT/WHOI) Joint Program in Biological Oceanography with the objective of combining molecular biology and ecology in an ocean setting.

After earning his Ph.D. from MIT/WHOI in 1992, he came to the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute as a Postdoctoral Fellow. In 1994 he joined the MBARI staff as a Scientist with a focus on the development and application of molecular probes for the detection of a variety of waterborne microbes, in particular toxic and harmful algae. Working collaboratively with a team of engineers, his group pioneered the development of the Environmental Sample Processor (ESP), an instrument that collects water samples autonomously, concentrates microorganisms, and automates the application of molecular probes to detect particular species and substances they produce.