Dr. Dave Bushek, Director of the Haskin Shellfish Research Laboratory at Rutgers University

Dave Bushek: Dr. David Bushek is the Director of the Haskin Shellfish Research Laboratory at Rutgers University where he is also a Professor of Marine and Coastal Sciences.  He is an expert in shellfish ecology, parasitology and aquaculture, and is perhaps best known for his work on Dermo disease in the eastern oyster, which is native to the Atlantic Coast of North America.

Bushek holds a Doctorate in Ecology and Evolution from Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, a Master’s in Biology (emphasis in Marine Biology) from the University of Houston, and a Bachelor’s in Zoology from The Ohio State Univeristy. After completing his doctorate, he joined the University of South Carolina where he served as the Assistant Director of the Belle W. Baruch Marine Field Station for 10 years before returning to Rutgers and the Haskin Lab in 2003 as a faculty member in the Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences.  In April 2011, he became the sixth Director of the Haskin Shellfish Research Laboratory (HSRL) in its 130-year history.

As HSRL Director Bushek leads the Annual Delaware Bay Oyster Stock Assessment which determines the sustainable harvest level for the New Jersey Delaware Bay oyster fishery.  Dr. Bushek is a Past-President of the National Shellfisheries Association, serves on the New Jersey Aquaculture Advisory Council, and is a Board Member for the Partnership for Delaware Estuary where he also serves as a member of PDE’s Science and Technical Advisory Committee.

Sarah Bouboulis, Habitat Projects Coordinator, Partnership for the Delaware Estuary

Sarah Bouboulis is PDE’s Habitat Projects Coordinator. She installs clean-water investments like rain gardens and natural shorelines. She also works with local businesses, schools, and organizations to beautify their landscapes, manage polluted runoff, and engage their employees and neighbors. A prime example is the Corporate & Community Environmental Stewardship Program.

Bouboulis has a variety of experience working as a field biologist and project manager. She has worked for the Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife managing bat, bog turtle, and amphibian projects. She has also worked for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge in Smyrna, Delaware. There she helped improve salt marshes, manage databases, and monitor both bats and birds.

Bouboulis has a M.S. from Bucknell University, where she studied how bats adapt and behave. She also has a B.S. from East Stroudsburg University. Bouboulis is originally from the Lehigh Valley but now lives in Newark, Delaware with her husband and daughter. She enjoys hiking, birding, and farmers markets.

Lisa Calvo serves as Aquaculture Program Coordinator at the New Jersey Sea Grant Consortium and Marine Scientist at Rutgers University where she supports aquaculture development in New Jersey. She has worked in the field of shellfish research and extension for 30 years, serving as a Marine Scientist at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science prior to working at Rutgers University. Calvo received her undergraduate degree in Biology and Geography from the University of Delaware and her Masters Degree in Marine Science from the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, College of William and Mary.