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Darren T. Lerner

Darren T. Lerner has been named the new director of the University of Hawaiʻi Sea Grant College Program and interim director of the UH Water Resources Research Center.

Lerner takes over the helm from E. Gordon Grau who served as director for nearly 15 years.

In his new position, Lerner will lead and serve the program’s scholarly and creative faculty, staff and partners in successfully moving UH Sea Grant forward to face the challenges as well as embrace the many opportunities that lie ahead. The unique environment in Hawaiʻi and the Pacific region are already changing under the influence of rising ocean levels, coastal erosion, invasive species, increasing land-use and development, pollution and surging populations, to name a few. Lerner is well qualified to assist in addressing these daunting challenges.

“Dr. Lerner brings the experience and vision that will move our program to the next level,” said Grau. “He also brings the skills and passion that will allow us to serve the people of Hawaiʻi in building a safe and sustainable future for our descendants while thriving within the capacity of our habitats and ecosystems.”

About Lerner

Lerner earned his bachelor’s degree in political science and psychology from the University of Missouri, Columbia; a master’s degree in zoology from Oregon State University and a PhD in organismic and evolutionary biology from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

Following a USDA sponsored postdoctoral fellowship, Lerner was appointed as affiliate research faculty at the Hawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biology, where he conducts a research program focused on the environmental physiology of fishes with an emphasis on the impact of environmental contaminants on fish growth, physiology and behavior.

Read the UH Sea Grant news release for more information.

—By Cindy Knapman

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