Craig McClain

Craig McClain is the Executive Director for the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium. He served prior as the Deputy Director for the Triangle Center for Evolutionary Medicine and the Assistant Director for Science at the National Evolutionary Synthesis Center both at Duke University. He has conducted deep-sea research for over 20 years and published over 60 papers in the area. He has participated in and led dozens of oceanographic expeditions taken him to the Antarctic and the most remote regions of the Pacific and Atlantic. Craig’s research focuses on how energy and metabolism drives the biology of marine invertebrates from individuals to ecosystems, specifically, seeking to uncover how organisms are adapted to different levels of carbon availability, i.e. food, and how this determines the kinds and number of species in different parts of the oceans. As such, much of Craig’s research focuses on how climate change impacts life in the ocean. Craig’s research has been featured on National Public Radio, Discovery Channel, Fox News, National Geographic and ABC News. In addition to his scientific research, Craig also advocates the need for scientists to connect with the public and is the founder and chief editor of the acclaimed Deep-Sea News (http://deepseanews.com/), a popular ocean-themed blog that has won numerous awards. His writing has been featured in Cosmos, Science Illustrated, American Scientist, Wired, Mental Floss, and the Open Lab: The Best Science Writing on the Web. His forthcoming book, Craig With Big Things, And Small Things explores his obsession with the diversity in sizes of life.

Contact Information: doc@craigmcclain.com; 919-668-4590