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BIDDEFORD, Maine

Kristin Burkholder, Amy Deveau and students publish research on antimicrobial properties of marine macroalgae

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Kristin Burkholder, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Biology, and Amy Deveau, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Chemistry and Physics, along with UNE alumni Zachary Miller-Hope, M.S. (Marine Sciences), assistant lecturer of Marine Sciences, and Clay Bolduc B.S. (Medical Biology), Pharm.D. ’19, as well as students Erica Lloyd (Medical Biology, ’17), Jessica Meader (Medical Biology, ’17), Fallon Weiss (Biology, ’16) and the late Brandon Williams (Wheaton College, Biochemistry) published a manuscript in the journal Letters in Applied Microbiology. 

In the article, the group reports that extracts obtained from the marine macroalgae Ulva lactuca inhibit the growth of clinically-important strains of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), an important drug-resistant human pathogen.  The authors also demonstrated that the inhibitory activity of U. lactuca extracts is influenced by lunar phase, suggesting that antimicrobial activity can be maximized by optimizing time of algal harvest. 

Read the abstract

Kristin Burkholder
Kristin Burkholder
Amy Deveau
Amy Deveau

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The University of New England is Maine’s largest independent university, with two beautiful coastal campuses in Maine, a one-of-a-kind study abroad campus in Tangier, Morocco, and an array of flexible, accredited online degrees. In an uncommonly welcoming and supportive community, we offer hands-on learning, empowering students to make a positive impact in a world full of challenges. The state’s top provider of health professionals, we are home to Maine’s only medical college, Maine’s only dental college, a variety of other interprofessionally aligned health care degree programs, as well as nationally recognized programs for marine science degrees, natural and social sciences degrees, arts and humanities degrees, and business degrees.