Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation Renews Support for Marine
Microbiology Research at UCSC May 14, 2008 Santa Cruz, CA — The
Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation has awarded a $4.8 million
grant to the University of California, Santa Cruz, to fund
ongoing research in marine microbiology. The five-year grant
supports a UCSC research program called MEGAMER (Microbial
Environmental Genomics Applications: Modeling, Experimentation,
and Remote sensing), established in July 2005 with a $2.2
million award from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.
Jonathan Zehr, professor of ocean sciences and principal
investigator on the new grant, oversaw the establishment of
MEGAMER. Research in the MEGAMER labs focuses on studying and
monitoring microorganisms in the ocean, particularly in the
waters of Monterey Bay. The oceans swarm with tiny organisms
invisible to the naked eye, but so abundant and diverse that
they affect the global environment in surprising ways. By
controlling the biological, geological, chemical and physical