Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium has announced that Dr. Erinn Muller, science director of Mote’s Elizabeth Moore International Center for Coral Reef Research & Restoration and manager for Mote’s Coral Health & Disease Research Program, has been awarded the prestigious Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE). This award is the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on outstanding scientists and engineers who are beginning their independent research careers and show exceptional promise for leadership in science and technology. 
 
Muller began her career at Mote in 2012 as a postdoctoral fellow and has quickly become one of the worldwide leaders in coral health and disease research. At Mote, she is one of the primary responders dealing with devastating coral disease in the Florida Reef Tract, working to identify the pathogen of the disease and outline a plan for recovery. Florida’s coral reefs attract over 16 million visitors a year, with reef-related economic activity contributing over $6 million to the Florida economy and providing for 71,000 jobs.
 
Through the National Science Foundation (NSF) Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program, Muller has worked since 2015 to study resiliency with staghorn coral (Acropora cervicornis), a threatened species. Her work looks at major environmental stressors, such as disease, rising ocean temperatures and ocean acidification, to better understand how the corals respond to these threats.