The Charles & Margery Barancik Foundation has provided a five-year, $751,487 grant to Mote’s new Red Tide Institute. The grant will provide significant support for the director of the institute, helping to ensure consistent progress towards developing and testing innovative technologies for the control and mitigation of the impacts of red tide.
 
The Red Tide Institute, which was established in the fall of 2018, seeks to determine the most effective, ecologically sound and nuanced methods to mitigate the adverse impacts of Florida red tide. Following its establishment, Mote recruited red tide algal bloom expert Cynthia Heil to serve as the institute’s director and help coordinate efforts with red tide researchers in five programs at Mote. Heil also collaborates with external partners, including the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Florida Department of Health, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and other national and international harmful algal bloom research organizations.

“We thank Mote for their commitment to our community through efforts to improve our quality of life and ecosystem,” says Barancik Foundation president and CEO Teri A Hansen. “Our support ensures Mote and Dr. Heil can focus on their work and also enhances the Institute’s ability to securing additional funding.”