Collin Closek

Collin (he/him) is a staff scientist at the Stanford Center for Ocean Solutions. He works with COS partners to develop low-cost technologies, optimize scientific methods, and improve data accessibility. As part of our Sustainable Ocean Economies Initiative, Collin co-leads our environmental DNA (eDNA) portfolio. He co-leads the Palau eDNA Project, where we are optimizing methods and technologies to assess biodiversity within Palau’s marine waters. He is working with partners to co-design case studies that test and assess low-cost technologies in Palau and Monterey Bay.  

Collin's research background includes using molecular and ecological methods to determine the health and physiological state of marine organisms. He completed his B.S. in Biology at the University of Georgia. His doctoral research focused on tropical coral diseases, reef health, and changes in associated microbial diversity. He began his doctoral studies in California at UC Merced and completed his Ph.D. at Penn State. After which, Collin was joint postdoctoral fellow at the University of Washington's School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences and the University of Maryland's Institute for Marine and Environmental Technology working on Sea Grant-funded projects to study oyster and abalone diseases in California. He joined COS as an Early Career Fellow to optimize eDNA methods and technologies with the Marine Biodiversity Observation Network (MBON) in the Puget Sound, Florida Keys, and California Coast.