UBC Science Associate Dean to receive award for marine virology work

Curtis A. Suttle, UBC’s Faculty of Science Associate Dean, Research and Graduate Studies, is being recognized for his pioneering work in the field of marine virology with the G. Evelyn Hutchinson award.

The award, granted annually by the Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography (ASLO), highlights Suttle’s contributions to a variety of fields, including biological oceanography, environmental microbiology, microbial ecology, virology and phycology.

Suttle is among a small pool of researchers credited with launching the field of marine virology nearly 20 years ago. His research into how marine viruses prey on photosynthetic organisms, which form the base of the food web in the ocean, demonstrated that viruses have a tremendous impact on critical environmental processes such as nutrient and energy cycling. Suttle currently has active projects examining viruses in extreme environments including high-Arctic ecosystems and the deep sub-surface.

Suttle holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Zoology and a PhD in Botany from UBC. He has held positions as the Coastal Marine Scholar at the State University of New York at Stony Brook and an Associate Professor at the University of Texas at Austin, before returning to UBC where he is professor of Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences, Microbiology & Immunology, and Botany, as well as, Associate Dean of Science for Research and Graduate Studies.

The G. Evelyn Hutchinson award will be presented at the ASLO 2013 Aquatic Sciences Meeting this month.