Dr. Alina Corcoran Presents at 2023 DOE Peer Review

Dr. Alina Corcoran Presents at 2023 DOE Peer Review

Dr. Alina Corcoran gave a presentation at the 2023 DOE Peer Review on Monday, April 3, 2023, on her project, “Optimizing Selection Pressures and Pest Management to Maximize Algal Biomass Yield.”

The goal of the project is to use a field-adapted industry strain, along with field-lab-field iterations across unique field sites, to quantify and balance selection pressures in both laboratory and field settings and to optimize key processes, including pest management.

For each algal strain, the project aims to balance indoor and outdoor selection pressures, improve pest management strategies, and enhance field strain performance, resiliency, and composition. The research team will also characterize the genotypes and phenotypes of laboratory and field cultivars to determine whether specific traits are lost, conserved, or enhanced through the process.

Another component of the project involves applying a combination of mutagenesis and directed evolution to a field-adapted algal strain to improve its productivity, stability, and biomass composition.

The project’s targets include a 50% improvement in harvest yield, a 50% improvement in robustness, and a 20% improvement in conversion yield.

Dr. Corcoran spoke of the teams different research approaches, impact, progress and outcomes. This talk was a great opportunity to highlight the Corcoran team’s progress.  Thanks to all team members at the New Mexico Consortium, Los Alamos National Lab, Sandia National Lab, Qualitas Health, Cyanotech Corporation, Phase Genomics, New Mexico State University, University of California San Diego and Colorado State University.

This project is supported by the New Mexico Consortium.