Jennifer Samson, Ph.D., joined COA’s staff as Principal Scientist, and Kristen Milligan, Ph.D., moved to Oregon where she is working for the Partnership for Interdisciplinary Studies of Coastal Oceans (PISCO) as Program Coordinator at Oregon State University.

Jennifer (left) grew up in California and completed her doctoral and post-doctoral work in NJ.  Jenni’s experiences in academia, government, and industry led her to COA where she will use her skills and expertise in marine science to advocate for the protection of the marine ecosystem.  COA is pleased to have Jenni on board.

Dr. Samson earned her Ph.D. in Biological Sciences from Rutgers University in 2002 where she conducted ecotoxicology-based independent research.  Recently, she completed a two-year National Research Council funded Post-doctoral Fellowship at the National Marine Fisheries Services’ James J. Howard Marine Science Laboratory at Sandy Hook.  Her research investigated the condition of young-of-the-year bluefish from two estuaries (Hackensack River-contaminated and Great Bay-relatively pristine) to identify  adverse impacts of pollution to essential fish habitat and understand the role of habitat quality on fish health.

Jennifer obtained her Masters Degree from Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, FL, studying the effects of teratogenic (embryonic) exposure of methyl mercury on early development of zebra fish, and was also Principal Investigator in numerous other studies to assess impacts from pollutants to fish species.  Her work has been published in several research journals, including Aquatic Toxicology and Marine Environmental Research and Journal, among others.

Jennifer resides with her husband and son in Summit, NJ.

Kristen Milligan, Ph.D., Staff Scientist for COA for nearly six years, migrated to the Pacific coast.  She moved to Oregon to work with PISCO, a long-term program of scientific research and training that is dedicated to advancing the understanding of marine ecosystems along the US West Coast.  To reach Kristen: call 541-737-8862, or mail to Department of Zoology, 3029 Cordley Hall, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331-2914.  Best wishes to Kristen and her family.