Dr Bassem Allam (MADL’s director)
Dr Allam was hired at Stony Brook University (SBU) as an Assistant Professor in 2003, and was promoted to the rank of Associate Professor in 2009 and to Professor in 2015. Before joining SBU, he served as a Teaching and Research Associate at the University of Guadeloupe (2001), and the University of Angers -France- (2000), and as a Post-doctoral Associate at Rutgers University NJ (1998-1999). He received his PhD from the University of Western Brittany (Brest, France) in 1998 studying clam pathobiology. General interests include host-microbe interactions in marine invertebrates in the framework of host-pathogen and predator-prey interactions. He is particularly interested in studying the early interactions between pathogenic microorganisms and their hosts at interfaces. Other primary interests include immunobiology and resistance of marine invertebrates to infectious diseases, and how the environment impacts the resistance processes. Dr Allam teaches graduate and undergraduate courses related to his domain of expertise. Please visit Allam’s webpage for more information about his activities.
Dr Emmanuelle Pales Espinosa, Research Associate Professor
Dr Pales Espinosa is a Research Scientist and adjunct Associate Professor at Stony Brook University and an active member of the MADL. She obtained a PhD degreee in Marine Biology from the University of Nantes (France) working on microalgae ecology and effects of biotic and abiotic factors on microalgae assemblages. Her post-doc (in France and in the US) focused on the interactions between suspension-feeding bivalves and their preys. She is co-PI and lead PI on several projects with Allam with research spanning various aspects of bivalve-microbe interactions with a focus on the mechanisms of particle selection in suspension-feeding bivalves.
Dr Mark Fast, Adjunct Assistant Professor
Dr. Fast was an Assistant Professor at the MADL between 2007 and 2010 before moving back to Canada where he now occupies a Professor position at the University of Prince Edward Island. Dr Fast maintains an adjunct faculty position at the MADL. Mark received his MSc at the Atlantic Veterinary College at UPEI, Canada, and his PhD at the University of Dalhousie, Canada. His interests include studying fish-pathogen interactions and fish immunological responses to different pathogens and environmental stressors.