Michelle Stuart is an Application Developer for the Center for Urban Policy Research.  In this role, Michelle collaborates with the Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) and various non-profits in the region to develop web applications and decision support tools that address a host of topics ranging from citizen-science reporting of tick encounters to state-wide watershed planning.  Prior to joining the CUPR, Michelle worked as a molecular field biologist for Rutgers, Oregon State University, and the University of Maryland, gathering DNA from clownfish in the Philippines and from microbial communities in the Artic. In the past she was a high school chemistry, biology, and marine science teacher.  Michelle holds a BS in Biology from Western Michigan University and a MS in Marine Biology from the University of North Carolina, Wilmington where she studied the chromosomes of the red tide algae Karenia brevis and its close relative, Karenia papillionacea.