AIS Celebrates Mariah Kachmar as NOAA Fisheries’ NMFS Team Member of the Year

This prestigious national recognition celebrates Mariah’s extraordinary leadership, scientific expertise, and unwavering dedication to marine ecosystem health and restoration.

Mariah was nominated by her NOAA Fisheries colleagues for her outstanding work on the Long Island Sound (LIS) Oyster Health Monitoring Program, a multi-million-dollar, grant-funded initiative focused on assessing oyster population health at restoration sites throughout the Sound. The program is funded by the EPA’s Long Island Sound Partnership and runs from 2023 through 2027.

Mariah stepped into a pivotal leadership role on the project following the unexpected departure of two principal investigators and a technician. Since assuming this responsibility, she has successfully guided the project through a critical transition, ensuring it not only remained on track but flourished. Under her direction, the team continues to meet and exceed key objectives, including documenting the health status of oysters across natural and restored beds and analyzing the environmental drivers of disease and reproductive success in unmanaged populations.

Mariah’s position encompasses a wide range of responsibilities, leading seasonal field sampling, managing lab-based sample processing, performing complex data analyses, and ensuring clear and effective communication with a wide array of stakeholders, including government agencies, universities, and local communities.

In response to her award, Mariah shared:

"Thank you to my colleagues at the NOAA Fisheries Milford Lab who kindly nominated me for this award. I am speechless and honored for this recognition. It means so much to me that others recognize my passion for our project supporting oyster health, restoration, and the aquaculture industry in addition to further understanding shellfish ecology and disease and participating in community outreach and mentorship. I am very grateful for the experiences and opportunities the NOAA Fisheries Milford Lab has put in my path as a marine scientist and believe I have grown immensely since joining the lab in the beginning of 2023. I also want to thank my Oyster Health team and our funders at the EPA Long Island Sound Partnership. Your support and individual skill sets do not go unnoticed and I am so lucky to work with you all every day!"

Mariah’s scientific expertise includes the application of microscopy, histopathology, molecular diagnostics (e.g., qPCR), and statistical modeling in R. Her work is vital to the development of a standard methodology for incorporating disease burden into oyster population health assessments, a critical step toward restoring and sustaining healthy shellfish ecosystems in Long Island Sound.

“Mariah embodies the AIS mission of excellence in science, stewardship, and service,” said Lucas Curci, Head of the Scientific Research Department at AIS. “Her ability to step into a leadership role during a time of need, while maintaining the scientific integrity and momentum of a complex research project, speaks volumes about her capabilities and character. We are honored to have her on our team.”

To learn more about Mariah’s scientific journey and passion for marine science, view her AIS seminar here: Mariah Kachmar AIS Seminar