Greg Doucette, Research Oceanographer

Tell us about yourself and your work at NOS.

My name is Gregory ‘Greg’ Doucette and I am a research oceanographer here at NOS. I focus on toxin-producing harmful algal blooms, or HABs, that can contaminate the seafood we eat and the water we drink, causing different types of illnesses and often severe economic impacts. I serve as the lead scientist for developing and deploying tools, called sensors, to detect dangerous HAB toxins in marine coastal waters and the Great Lakes. My work helps to guide the research and development of our sensor technology and I collaborate with our many partners to get these sensors into the water.

Once in the water, the sensors send data directly to NOAA in real-time — which provides early warnings of toxic blooms, supports HAB forecasts, and aids in protecting public health. For example, our sensors located off the coast of Washington state report on toxin levels in the water that can contaminate razor clams on the beaches. These forecasts can then help shellfish managers make decisions to safely open recreational clam digs that contribute millions of dollars to local economies.

What inspired you to pursue a career in oceanography?

There has always been something magical to me about being on a boat, whether it was fishing with my Dad in cold, northern Ontario lakes, or riding a large ferry from Bar Harbor, Maine to Yarmouth, Nova Scotia across the often unsettled Bay of Fundy. These experiences on the water steered me toward my education in the sciences.

I studied marine biology at Bowling Green State University in Ohio and often took field trips to the Gulf Coast where I was introduced to the microscopic world of algae. I then completed my graduate and post graduate work at Texas A&M University, the University of British Columbia, and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, where I focused on HABs, the toxins they release into water, and how this affects people and the environment.

As I embarked on my career, my first role was working in NOAA’s Marine Biotoxins Program at a laboratory in Charleston, South Carolina at what would later become a part of the Hollings Marine Laboratory, which is one of the NOS’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science. I am proud to work for NOAA, and I still work at the Hollings lab today.

What is most exciting about your work?

The most exciting aspect of my work is its variety. Everything I do supports NOAA’s missions, ranging from studying bacteria that kill the harmful algae that cause HABs, to investigating how algal toxins impact endangered North Atlantic right whales, to developing tests for detecting algal toxins in the seafood we eat and water we drink. It has been particularly rewarding to be on teams of experts that do what nobody else in the world has done.