MEET THE TEAM
Team V
Team V is mainly made up of 5 people: Mike , Tracey, Louisa, Paul and Chris. TeamV is more a state of mind; you never really leave and no matter how long you stay, you will always be a part of it
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First up, I would like to welcome you to Blue Microbe - I am head of TeamV at Plymouth Marine Laboratory, a professor at the University of Exeter and Chief Mess Maker in The Allen Lab and am Rosie, Archie and Buddy's (the dog) dad and husband to my wife Sara Allen. I am a molecular microbiologist with a love of science and the natural environment.
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Professor Mike Allen
I am Mike's senior minion and an algae molecular biochemist meaning I love DNA and algae! It is during winter that I love the beaches the most; the empty eerie look of the ocean but on closer inspection, full of life. I think that algae are totally awesome as they are so diverse and beautiful - my favourite is Rhodamonas reticulata because it looks like it is wearing a woolly jumper !I think algae are amazing as they are relatively simple to genetically modify so they can produce lots of useful things like: oil, biofuels, fishfood and even a replacement for fish oil tablets!
Tracy Beacham
I love the sea whether I'm studying the invisible biology inside of it or kayaking on top of it. When I'm not at sea, I'm usually in land climbing up walls and enjoying the outdoors! I am TeamV's AFM Wizard (atomic force microscopy)! I use the magic of AFM to feel how things look which is pretty cool!
Chris Evans
I'm so lucky to live so close to the sea so that every time I go swimming I see something I have never seen before like weird stringy sea cucumbers or giant crabs and cuttle fish! I am one of Mike's PhD (doctor of philosophy) students and I'm looking at using an algae called Emilinia Huxleyi to make cool stuff! I am developing a reputation for breaking things, on my first day I broke a really expensive glass bottle and recently I dropped a VERY expensive pump into a tank full of water. Everyone is very excited to see what I break next.
Louisa de Dross
Paul Rooks
