Professor Maria Rosa named a 2020 Emerging Scholar by Diverse Issues in Higher Education
Milne Assistant Professor of Biology Maria Rosa has been recognized as a 2020 Emerging Scholar by Diverse Issues in Higher Education magazine.
Rosa, a professor at Connecticut College since 2018, specializes in marine biology and ecology, oceanography, and marine sciences. Her research focuses on the application of new techniques to better understand how organismal physiology and morphology impacts marine invertebrate life history, performance and ecology, and, in turn, affects the ecosystems these organisms inhabit.
Rosa’s model organism for research is the oyster, a picky eater that can choose between what it wants to ingest versus what it wants to release.
“A lot of the work I did was trying to figure out the mechanisms,” she said. “They are doing this really cool thing, but they don’t have a brain, so how are they doing it?”
She is also working with local coral, which has thrived despite other types of coral dying due to climate change. Students in her lab are currently working on a project monitoring environmental conditions and doing passive sampling along the Connecticut College shoreline.
Dean of the Faculty Jeffrey Cole said Rosa has made a big impact since joining the faculty.
“Not only does she have so much promise as a teacher, as a scholar, as a community member, in less than a year and half, she has made just remarkable contributions to our community here at Connecticut College,” Cole said.
