{"id":18772,"date":"2025-10-23T15:27:31","date_gmt":"2025-10-23T19:27:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/?p=18772"},"modified":"2026-01-21T15:08:25","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T20:08:25","slug":"from-delaware-to-the-deep-sea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/2025\/10\/23\/from-delaware-to-the-deep-sea\/","title":{"rendered":"From Delaware to the Deep Sea"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Florida Keys are a long way from a state-of-the-art lab in Wilmington, Delaware, but Dr. Milton Muldrow Jr.<\/strong> hopes his research will help halt the loss of Florida\u2019s coral reefs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Muldrow joined Wilmington University in 2015, founding the Environmental Science and Biology programs. Today, students can earn a Bachelor of Science<\/a> and a Master of Science in Environmental Science<\/a>. There is an undergraduate degree in Biology<\/a>, and WilmU added a Chemistry degree<\/a> in spring 2025. The University also offers certificates in Biotechnology<\/a> and Forensic Science<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Muldrow is also an assistant director of the NASA Delaware Space Grant and and director of the Natural Sciences Division at the College of Health Professions and Natural Sciences<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cI have a broad interest in climate change, which is driving the collapse of coral ecosystems around the world.”<\/p>\n\u2014 Dr. Milton Muldrow Jr.<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

The Baltimore native developed a love of science at a young age. In high school, he completed a project on ethnobotany \u2014 the study of the relationship between people and plants \u2014 and the use of medicinal herbs in tropical rainforests, which further piqued his interest in science. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Saint Francis University in western Pennsylvania and a Master of Science in Biology from the University of Missouri in St. Louis. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI have a broad interest in climate change, which is driving the collapse of coral ecosystems around the world,\u201d says Dr. Muldrow, who received a Ph.D. in Environmental Science and Public Policy from George Mason University. A trip to the Galapagos sparked his interest in coral, and his doctoral research focused on the concept of shifting baselines in coral reef conservation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his WilmU lab, Dr. Muldrow is using cutting-edge gene-editing technology that makes specific changes to the DNA of a cell or organism. An enzyme cuts the DNA at a particular sequence, and when the cell repairs itself, it changes the sequence. On a basic level, it\u2019s like changing or deleting a word in a sentence to express a thought more clearly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CRISPR-Cas9 is the editing tool that removes, adds to, or alters regions of DNA. It could help cure such illnesses as sickle cell disease and cystic fibrosis. It is also a game-changer in agriculture. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Muldrow\u2019s team will use the technology on Aiptasia<\/em>, a genus of sea anemones that\u2019s \u201cbasically a lab rat for corals,\u201d he says. \u201cWe\u2019re introducing Aiptasia<\/em> to stressful environments and studying the responses of certain genes and proteins.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Warm water puts stress on coral; the Keys have lost nearly 90% of their coral cover over the past 50 years, severely reducing reef biodiversity and coastal resilience. \u201cSea temperatures over the last several years have been record high,\u201d Dr. Muldrow says. \u201cThe Florida Keys have seen temperatures of over 100 degrees close to land in the last few years.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n