Why don’t marine mammals get the bends? Come to our October monthly meeting with guest speaker Dr. Laura Thompson and find out!

Laura Thompson is a research scientist at Mystic Aquarium, where she is involved with multiple aspects of aquatic animal health research. Dr. Thompson holds a first-class BSc with honors in Marine and Freshwater Biology from the University of London and obtained her PhD in Oceanography  through a partnership between Mystic Aquarium and UConn’s Marine Science Department at Avery Point. During her graduate studies, Dr. Thompson developed a unique research focus on the relationship between the immune system, diving, and dive-related injury in marine mammals; investigating the hypothesis that a less-sensitive immune response helps marine mammals avoid the bends; and trying to understand the conditions that may lead to dive-related injury and disease.  She will talk about marine mammal diving, adaptations, and drivers of renewed interest in studying marine mammal dive physiology including conservation and medical implications.