OUT OF THE LAB AND INTO THE WORLD: UNCW'S NEW COASTAL AND OCEAN SCIENCES DOCTORAL DEGREE INTEGRATES ENTREPRENEURSHIP WITH THE AQUATIC ECOSYSTEM.

• Author: Jenkins, Venita
• Position: RESEARCH: NORTH CAROLINA: THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT WILMINGTON

UNC Wilmington's new Ph.D. in Applied Coastal and Ocean Sciences builds on the university's 50-year history of marine sciences research and education by providing students with a robust marine science degree alongside additional learning and training and opportunities to develop dynamic entrepreneurship and technology development skills.

The new doctoral program, set to begin in fall 2022, leverages UNCW's unique coastal location and has the potential to contribute to the regional and national blue economy. The blue economy encompasses a broad range of economic and sustainable uses and benefits of the ocean, including fisheries, aquaculture, biotechnology, maritime transport, tourism and recreation, energy and mineral resources, waste management and impacts of climate change. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development estimates that oceans contribute $1.5 trillion annually to the global economy.

"The Applied Coastal and Ocean Sciences program formally integrates entrepreneurship topics to help students envision new applications for their ideas in business, policymaking, and other areas of targeted problem solving," said Dr. Steve Skrabal, graduate program director and chemistry and biochemistry professor. "Our graduates will not only be prepared for the academic job market but also well-qualified to enter the workforce in the private and policy sectors or as entrepreneurs starting their businesses."

UNCW has deep experience in marine natural products chemistry and drug discovery through its Marine Biotechnology in North Carolina (MARBIONC) program, a research and development program located at the university's Center for Marine Science. Dr. Jennifer McCall, assistant professor in the Clinical Research Program, and her husband, Sam McCall, founded SeaTox Research Inc., which focuses on drug discovery and developing natural products into new bio-actives, as well as developing faster, easier-to-use testing for toxins that might contaminate commercial seafood. SeaTox Research is one of a number of commercial tenants in MARBIONC. Science also meets innovation in the development of an instrument to measure coral health indicators called CISME, "Coral In Situ Metabolism," by Dr. Alina Szmant, coral reef ecologist and former marine biology professor, and Dr. Rob Whitehead, a Center for Marine Science research specialist.

"With the ACOS degree, we will educate and train scientists who can think about how to get their discoveries out...