Dr Justin Liefer

I am interested in the physiology and ecology of aquatic microbes, including their production of toxins or useful natural products.

Presently I am studying how differences in macromolecular composition and energy storage among microalgae affect their growth and stress tolerance.

For my PhD, I studied coastal biogeochemistry, phytoplankton ecology, and toxic algal blooms at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab in Dauphin Island, USA. I continued this work as a postdoctoral researcher at the Univ. of Alabama. I’ve also worked as a Research Biologist for the US Food and Drug Administration studying the production and bioaccumulation of seafood toxins produced by algae.