Doctoral Student Brittany Sprecher is among a select group of researchers from across the United States being awarded a prestigious Graduate Research Fellowship from the National Science Foundation.
The primary goal of Brittany Sprecher’s research in biological oceanography is to look at phytate as a growth substrate for dinoflagellates. Dinoflagellates are an important class of primary producers. Key findings will provide a novel perspective on phosphorous utilization in dinoflagellates. If phytate utilization is found, phytate could be used as a molecular marker for future studies to survey the phytate-utilizing ability in global phytoplankton communities.