Dana E. Hunt | Scholars@Duke

Dana E. Hunt
Assistant Professor of Microbial Ecology

My research focus is on understanding the ecology of microbes through examination of their genes and lifestyles. Bacteria are the most diverse organisms on earth and play a pivotal role in planetary cycling of nutrients and energy. Yet, we have a poor understanding of the factors that drive their diversity and dynamics in the environment. The lab's emphasis is on studying bacterial interactions with the environment at the appropriate temporal and spatial scale including the effect of temperature changes on bacterial populations and bacterial interactions with other organisms. Another area of active research is the response and adaptation of bacteria to emerging pollutants such as antibiotics and nanoparticles.

Current Appointments & Affiliations

Assistant Professor of Microbial Ecology, Marine Science and Conservation, Nicholas School of the Environment 2010

Contact Information

135 Duke Marine Lab Rd, Beaufort, NC 28516
135 Duke Marine Lab Rd, Beaufort, NC 28516
dana.hunt@duke.edu (252) 504-7542
Lab Webpage

Background
Education, Training, & Certifications
- Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology 2008
Duke Appointment History
- Assistant Professor in the Department of Biology, Biology, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences 2014 - 2018
- Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Pratt School of Engineering 2015 - 2018
Recognition
In the News
- DEC 30, 2013
  
  Local Factors Cause Dramatic Spikes In Coastal Ocean Acidity
Expertise
Subject Headings
Global Scholarship
- Research
  - United States of America (Country)
Research
Selected Grants
- Multi-functional Plasmonics Nanoprobes for Cellular Sensing and Imaging awarded by Department of Energy 2015 - 2019
- Ecology at the microbial scale: the importance of microscale interactions awarded by Gordon & Betty Moore Foundation 2013 - 2019
- Collaborative Research: Ocean Acidification: microbes as sentinels of adaptive responses to multiple stressors awarded by National Science Foundation 2015 - 2018
- OCE-RIG: Biological activity on particulate organic material in the coastal ocean awarded by National Science Foundation 2013 - 2016
- MRI-R-2: Acquisition of High-Speed Sorting Flow Cytometer for Multi-User Environmental Microbiology Research awarded by National Science Foundation 2010 - 2012
Publications & Artistic Works
Selected Publications
- Journal Articles
  - Zhang, T, Pan, J-F, Hunt, DE, Chen, M, and Wang, B. "Organic matter modifies biochemical but not most behavioral responses of the clam Ruditapes philippinarum to nanosilver exposure." Marine environmental research 133 (February 2018): 105-113. Full Text
  - Ward, CS, Yung, C-M, Davis, KM, Blinebry, SK, Williams, TC, Johnson, ZI, and Hunt, DE. "Annual community patterns are driven by seasonal switching between closely related marine bacteria." The ISME journal 11, no. 6 (June 2017): 1412-1422. Full Text
  - Garcia, NS, Yung, C-M, Davis, KM, Rynearson, T, and Hunt, DE. "Draft Genome Sequences of Three Bacterial Isolates from Cultures of the Marine Diatom Thalassiosira rotula." Genome announcements 5, no. 18 (May 4, 2017). Full Text
  - McMurray, SE, Johnson, ZI, Hunt, DE, Pawlik, JR, and Finelli, CM. "Selective feeding by the giant barrel sponge enhances foraging efficiency." Limnology and Oceanography 61, no. 4 (July 2016): 1271-1286. Full Text
  - Yung, C-M, Ward, CS, Davis, KM, Johnson, ZI, and Hunt, DE. "Insensitivity of Diverse and Temporally Variable Particle-Associated Microbial Communities to Bulk Seawater Environmental Parameters." Applied and Environmental Microbiology 82, no. 11 (June 2016): 3431-3437. Full Text
  - Yung, C-M, Vereen, MK, Herbert, A, Davis, KM, Yang, J, Kantorowska, A, Ward, CS, Wernegreen, JJ, Johnson, ZI, and Hunt, DE. "Thermally adaptive tradeoffs in closely related marine bacterial strains." Environmental microbiology 17, no. 7 (July 2015): 2421-2429. Full Text
  - Hunt, DE, and Ward, CS. "A network-based approach to disturbance transmission through microbial interactions." Frontiers in Microbiology 6 (January 2015): 1182-null. (Review) Full Text
  - Chae, S-R, Hunt, DE, Ikuma, K, Yang, S, Cho, J, Gunsch, CK, Liu, J, and Wiesner, MR. "Aging of fullerene C₆₀ nanoparticle suspensions in the presence of microbes." Water research 65 (November 2014): 282-289. Full Text
  - Kirchberger, PC, Turnsek, M, Hunt, DE, Haley, BJ, Colwell, RR, Polz, MF, Tarr, CL, and Boucher, Y. "Vibrio metoecus sp. nov., a close relative of Vibrio cholerae isolated from coastal brackish ponds and clinical specimens." International journal of systematic and evolutionary microbiology 64, no. Pt 9 (September 2014): 3208-3214. Full Text
  - Colman, BP, Espinasse, B, Richardson, CJ, Matson, CW, Lowry, GV, Hunt, DE, Wiesner, MR, and Bernhardt, ES. "Emerging contaminant or an old toxin in disguise? Silver nanoparticle impacts on ecosystems." Environmental Science & Technology 48, no. 9 (May 2014): 5229-5236. Full Text Open Access Copy
  - Hunt, DE, Lin, Y, Church, MJ, Karl, DM, Tringe, SG, Izzo, LK, and Johnson, ZI. "Relationship between abundance and specific activity of bacterioplankton in open ocean surface waters." Applied and Environmental Microbiology 79, no. 1 (January 2013): 177-184. Full Text
  - Johnson, ZI, Wheeler, BJ, Blinebry, SK, Carlson, CM, Ward, CS, and Hunt, DE. "Dramatic variability of the carbonate system at a temperate coastal ocean site (Beaufort, North Carolina, USA) is regulated by physical and biogeochemical processes on multiple timescales. (Published online)" PLoS One 8, no. 12 (2013): e85117-. Full Text Open Access Copy Link to Item
  - Boucher, Y, Cordero, OX, Takemura, A, Hunt, DE, Schliep, K, Bapteste, E, Lopez, P, Tarr, CL, and Polz, MF. "Local mobile gene pools rapidly cross species boundaries to create endemicity within global Vibrio cholerae populations." Mbio 2, no. 2 (January 2011): 737-745. Full Text
  - Hunt, DE, David, LA, Gevers, D, Preheim, SP, Alm, EJ, and Polz, MF. "Resource partitioning and sympatric differentiation among closely related bacterioplankton." Science (New York, N.Y.) 320, no. 5879 (May 2008): 1081-1085. Full Text
  - Hunt, DE, Gevers, D, Vahora, NM, and Polz, MF. "Conservation of the chitin utilization pathway in the Vibrionaceae." Applied and Environmental Microbiology 74, no. 1 (January 2008): 44-51. Full Text
  - Stocker, R, Seymour, JR, Samadani, A, Hunt, DE, and Polz, MF. "Rapid chemotactic response enables marine bacteria to exploit ephemeral microscale nutrient patches." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 105, no. 11 (2008): 4209-4214. Full Text
  - Hunt, DE, Klepac-Ceraj, V, Acinas, SG, Gautier, C, Bertilsson, S, and Polz, MF. "Evaluation of 23S rRNA PCR primers for use in phylogenetic studies of bacterial diversity." Applied and Environmental Microbiology 72, no. 3 (March 2006): 2221-2225. Full Text
  - Polz, MF, Hunt, DE, Preheim, SP, and Weinreich, DM. "Patterns and mechanisms of genetic and phenotypic differentiation in marine microbes." Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 361, no. 1475 (2006): 2009-2021. Full Text
  - Thompson, JR, Pacocha, S, Pharino, C, Klepac-Ceraj, V, Hunt, DE, Benoit, J, Sarma-Rupavtarm, R, Distel, DL, and Polz, MF. "Genotypic diversity within a natural coastal bacterioplankton population." Science (New York, N.Y.) 307, no. 5713 (February 2005): 1311-1313. Full Text
  - Acinas, SG, Klepac-Ceraj, V, Hunt, DE, Pharino, C, Ceraj, I, Distel, DL, and Polz, MF. "Fine-scale phylogenetic architecture of a complex bacterial community." Nature 430, no. 6999 (July 2004): 551-554. Full Text
  - Polz, MF, Bertilson, S, Acinas, SG, and Hunt, D. "A(r)ray of hope in diversity analysis of microbial function and communities." Biological Bulletin 204, no. 2 (2003): 196-199. (Academic Article)
  - Polz, MF, Bertilsson, S, Acinas, SG, and Hunt, D. "A(r)ray of hope in analysis of the function and diversity of microbial communities." Biological Bulletin 204, no. 2 (2003): 196-199.
Teaching & Mentoring
Recent Courses

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Education, Training, & Certifications

Duke Appointment History

In the News

Subject Headings

Global Scholarship

Research

Selected Grants

Selected Publications

Journal Articles

Recent Courses