Wayne Litaker (USA)
With a degree in oceanography from Duke University, Wayne Litaker took a career detour and served as a faculty member in Program in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology at the University of North Carolina Medical School for 14 years. However, his innate curiosity and early love of plankton and coastal ecology brought him back to the coast in 2002, when he joined NOAA’s Beaufort Lab. Since then he has worked with the HAB group to apply his molecular skills and marine ecology background to address issues concerning the ecology, taxonomy, molecular biology and detection of harmful algal bloom species and their toxins. The work done by this group has been recognized with the Provasoli Award and Tyge Christiansen Prize. He has served on the Journal of Phycology editorial board, has authored more than 100 publications and his outstanding service has been recognized by the US Department of Commerce Gold Medal.
