Diatoms. Algal blooms. Domoic Acid. Pseudo-nitzschia.

Terms like these may disinterest many, but for a team of professors and students at the UW, these words can be chewed on for years, or decades if need be.

Harnessing a curiosity and love of understanding nature’s complexities, the Pacific Northwest Center for Human Health and Ocean Studies, created in 2003 at the UW, has concentrated its energy on better understanding the link between human health and ocean processes.

“We’re really focused on the impact of harmful algae blooms on public health,” said Virginia Armbrust, the center’s co-director and oceanography professor.

Diatoms, which are microscopic algae, are abundant in coastal waters. In the Pacific Northwest, they create large blooms every spring and fall.

Under largely unknown conditions, a type of algae called Pseudo-nitzschia can produce the neurotoxin domoic acid.

When people eat shellfish contaminated with this acid, they may experience memory loss, nausea and, in some cases, death. There have been no reported deaths linked with domoic acid poisoning in Washington.

Prompted by these dangers, the center’s research revolves around several key questions. What environmental factors lead to development of toxic blooms? Why do certain shellfish retain toxin? What are the biological processes of domoic acid toxicity? What populations are at greatest risk? How do dietary and consumption behaviors contribute to exposure?

To answer these questions, the center created four research projects: toxic algae, shellfish kinetics, mechanisms of toxicity and human exposure.

Eva Dusek, a graduate student, relishes the outdoors and nature. She enjoys running, biking, mountain climbing and kayaking. Intrigued by the center’s research and wanting to help protect people’s health, she joined the shellfish kinetics project in 2004.

“We are conducting this research to learn how shellfish communities, mostly clams, mussels and oysters, in Puget Sound might respond to blooms of the toxin-producing phytoplankton,” Dusek said.

In 1987, scientists first discovered that Pseudo-nitzschia could produce the potentially fatal toxin. In 1991, this toxin began hitting razor clams along the Washington coast. Part of Dusek’s research is to compare the coast with the Puget Sound, where toxicity is more rare.

The research is a combination of laboratory studies and mathematical modeling.

“We try to predict which shellfish would become toxic during a Pseudo-nitzschia bloom,” Dusek said.

From there, the center can provide the public with advice on which shellfish should be tested for the toxin and which might be safe for consumption.

As a biology graduate from Stanford University, Dusek is working on her master’s degree at the School of Fishery and Aquatic Science. She hopes to get her doctorate soon, researching the same shellfish kinetics project.

As a backbone for the four center projects, there are four facility cores: biosensor monitoring, neurobehavioral assessment, characterization of environmental parameters and data integration. These groups link researchers with the appropriate research projects.

Researchers at the center are beginning to better understand the complexities of domoic acid and Pseudo-nitzschia, but there remains much more to figure out. There’s no good estimate as to how long it will take, Armbrust said.

However, the researchers are dedicated and excited to continue working on the four center ‘sprojects.

“I love the fact that [this project] allows me to explore my fascination with intertidal animals,” Dusek said. “I’m also excited that the work I do will not only contribute to scientific knowledge, but might also help prevent people from being exposed to the toxin produced by Pseudo-nitzschia.”

The center is supported by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.

[Reach reporter Joy Yagi at features@thedaily.washington.edu.]