Onboard Offshoot: Genomics at Sea Program

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This article originally appeared in the fall 2024 issue of UC San Diego Magazine as a sidebar to the profile “Edge of the World.”

FjordPhyto scientist Christian Johnson, ’21, is collaborating with Viking Cruises to start the Genomics at Sea Program (GASP). What sets this program apart from FjordPhyto is that it enables phytoplankton to be identified on board the vessel immediately after collection rather than waiting to return samples at the close of the five-month tourism season. With support from Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego and the J. Craig Venter Institute, Viking has become the first travel company to support real-time environmental genomic sequencing capabilities on board its vessels.

Johnson earned his bachelor’s degree in marine biology from UC San Diego before becoming involved in FjordPhyto in 2021 during a summer Research Experience for Undergraduates program that embeds students in research at Scripps Oceanography. During his time in the program, Johnson processed and analyzed phytoplankton samples collected in the FjordPhyto program.

“I am extremely appreciative of the knowledge and experiences I have been able to embrace while taking part in the FjordPhyto team,” says Johnson, a PhD student and molecular geneticist at Scripps. “This has allowed me to implement novel strategies to conduct research in a highly data-limited marine environment that is crucial for understanding global climate variability.”