Peter McCarthy PhD: University of Kent, 1983 Affiliate Professor Research interests: microbial symbionts of sponges/drug discovery Contact information Email: pmccarthy@hboi.edu http://www.hboi.edu/dbmr/mccarthy.html

Dr. Peter McCarthy was educated in England and received his Ph.D. in Microbiology from the University of Kent at Canterbury. Following a post-doctoral fellowship working with the Natural Products Discovery group at Smith Kline Beckman in Philadelphia, Dr. McCarthy joined Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution where he is currently a Senior Scientist in the Center for Ocean Exploration. Research projects taking place in his lab include: the identification of the symbiotic microbes present in deep-water marine sponges; the development of novel isolation methods to increase the numbers of microbes that can be cultured; and screening for novel antimicrobial agents from marine invertebrates and microbes. The microbiologists also works closely with the chemists in the Natural Products Discovery group on the isolation and identification of chemicals produced by the unusual microbes with the ultimate goal of discovering new therapies for diseases such as cancer. Dr. McCarthy has over 40 publications in the scientific literature, teaches through the Harbor Branch/FAU Semester-by-the-sea program, and is a former President of the Florida Branch of the American Society for Microbiology.

Recent Publications:

1. Gunasekera, A.S., K.S. Sfanos, D.K. Harmody, S.A. Pomponi, P.J. McCarthy, J.V. Lopez. HBMMD: an enhanced database of the microorganisms associated with deeper water marine invertebrates. Appl. Microbiol. Biotechnol. 66 373-376 (2005).
2. Sfanos, K.A., C.L. Peterson, D.K. Harmody, P.J. McCarthy, S.A. Pomponi and J.V. Lopez. A molecular systematic survey of sponge-derived marine microbes. Systematic Appl. Microbiol.  28:242-264 (2005).
3. Olson J.B., and P.J. McCarthy. Associated bacterial communities of two deep-water sponges. Aquatic Microb. Ecol. 30:47-55 (2005).
4. Park, Y.C., S.P. Gunasekera, J.V. Lopez, P.J. McCarthy, and A.E. Wright. Metabolites from the marine-derived fungus Chromocleista sp. isolated from the deep-water sediment sample collected in the Gulf of Mexico. J. Nat. Prod. 69:580-584 (2006).
5. Sennett, S.H. and P.J. McCarthy. Deep-water marine invertebrates: A source of Pharmaceuticals. Screening: Trends in Drug Discovery, 7(4):22-23 (2006).
6. Duckworth A.R., W.M. Brück, K.E. Janda, T.P. Pitts and P.J. McCarthy. Retention efficiencies of the coral reef sponges Aplysina lacunosa, Callyspongia vaginalis and Niphates digitalis determined by Coulter counter and plate culture
7. Olson, J.B., D.K. Harmody, A. Bej, and P.J. McCarthy. Tsukamurella spongiae sp. nov., a novel actinomycete isolated from a deep-water marine sponge. Int. J. Syst. Evol. Microbiol.  In Press. (2007).
8. Wright, A.E., Cook Botelho, J., Guzmán, E., Harmody, D., Linley, P., McCarthy, P.J., Pitts, T.P, Pomponi, S.A, and  Reed, J.K. Neopeltolide a new macrolide from a Lithistid sponge of the family Neopeltidae.  J. Nat. Prod. In Press. (2007).
9. Bruck, T.B., W.M. Bruck, L.Z. Santiago-Vazquez, P.J. McCarthy and R.G. Kerr. Diversity of the bacterial communities associated with the azooanthellate deep water octocorals Leptogorgia minimata, Icillogorgia scrammii and Swiftia exertia. Marine Biotechnol. In Press (2007).
10. Cassler, M., C.L. Peterson, A. Ledger, S.A. Pomponi, A.E. Wright, R. Winegar, P.J. McCarthy, and J.V. Lopez.Use of Real-Time qPCR to quantify members of the unculturable heterotrophic bacterial community in a deep sea marine sponge, Vetulina sp. Microbial Ecology. In Press (2007).