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Oceans and Human Health
Center of Excellence in Oceans & Human Health
As a Center of Excellence in NOAA’s Ocean and Human Health Initiative, Hollings Marine Laboratory (HML) is
developing new methods and approaches to evaluate linkages between ecological process and human health and
well-being, as well as deliver reliable assessments and forecasts about ecosystem and public health risks to public
health officials, natural resource managers and coastal planners. Core research capacity at HML evaluates the
health responses of marine ecosystems to stress, and identifies and characterizes threats to human health including
those in seafood. Supported by additional programs to validate and test the sensitivity of the new tools being
developed, the results of the research program will be disseminated to environmental and public health managers,
teachers, university students and citizens of all ages through a comprehensive education and outreach program.Learn more »
Marine Animal Health
Coastal ecosystem health is reflected in the health of the marine animals that live in coastal waters. At HML,
researchers are concentrating on the development of diagnostic tools and the study of the stressors that affect
health and disease of marine animals. As marine animals swim in the same coastal waters, breath the same air and
even eat some of the same seafood as people, they are exposed to the same marine pathogens and contaminants.
Understanding the health and disease processes and how they change with an altering coastal environment can help
predict how the condition of the oceans and coastal waters are linked to marine ecosystems and human health.
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Marine Natural Products
Ocean and coastal waters can be a source of health hazards as well as a source of many resources that convey a
health benefit to humans. As societal pressures on our ocean and coastal resources increase, understanding the
source and nature of biologically based chemical interactions in the environment becomes critical. Current research
at HML is looking into the implications of toxins associated with coral death and degradation of other marine
ecosystems. Isolation, identification and characterization of these chemicals made possible by the resources at
HML allow scientists to investigate these toxic substances and determine the risks, as well as the potential for
human benefits associated with them. A toxin in the environment may turn out to be a valuable asset in medicine or
a product with commercial value.
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