The Cornell Marine Mass Mortality Laboratory (also known as the Hewson Lab, Cornell) was formed in 2009 in the Department of Microbiology at Cornell. The lab’s research focus is on the etiologies and drivers of marine mass mortalities.

The lab uses a combination of field surveys, experimental manipulations, laboratory analyses, and computational approaches to achieve our research goals. We regularly deploy on field expeditions to make observations and perform in- an near-situ experiments, and back in the lab use microscopic, macroscopic, ecological, molecular biological, and computational tools to address our research questions. The team presents its work routinely at scientific conferences and publishes in peer-reviewed outlets, and welcomes the opportunity to speak to wider audiences through talks aimed at non-scientists.

Our group comprises the PI, technicians, postdocs, graduate students (engaged through Cornell’s Microbiology, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, and Natural Resources graduate programs), undergraduate researchers, and high school students (though the New Visions BOCES program).

Our group collaborates with other researchers across diverse disciplines, both within the US and abroad. We welcome the opportunity to work with scientists with diverse perspectives and experiences, and across borders and state boundaries. We value diversity across all axes, which is reflected in the rainbow in our lab logo.