Alaina Weinheimer (ocean virology)
08/31/23 • 36 min
Alaina Weinheimer is a postdoctoral fellow at the Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences where she examines how bacteria fight viruses in the ocean. She is particularly interested in jumbo phages, which are phages with really large genomes (> 200 kb). Until recently, they have been largely overlooked in both culture-based and sequencing studies due to their unusually large size that rivals bacteria!
While pursuing her bachelor’s degree in Biology at Penn State, Alaina worked in coral reef ecology labs where she was exposed to the numerous threats to coral and the potential roles of microbes and viruses in mediating or exacerbating these threats.
Alaina was a 5 Minute GeniusTM speaker for the 2023 Maine Science Festival; you can watch her talk on our YouTube Channel: https://youtu.be/9GGe6kZfTHI?si=jcD4QnGj8GticN_J
Our conversation was recorded in June 2023.
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The Maine Science Podcast is a production of the Maine Discovery Museum. It was recorded at Discovery Studios, at the Maine Discovery Museum, in Bangor, ME. The Maine Science Podcast is hosted and executive produced by Kate Dickerson; edited and produced by Scott Loiselle.
The Discover Maine theme was composed and performed by Nick Parker.
To support the Maine Discovery Museum: https://www.mainediscoverymuseum.org/donate.
To support the Maine Science Festival, Maine's first and only science festival available free of charge to all, please visit our donation page.
Find us online:
Maine Discovery Museum on social media: Facebook Instagram
Maine Science Festival on social media: Facebook Twitter Instagram
Maine Science Podcast on social media: Facebook Twitter Instagram
© 2023 Maine Discovery Museum
~~~~~
The Maine Science Podcast is a production of the Maine Discovery Museum. It is recorded at Discovery Studios, at the Maine Discovery Museum, in Bangor, ME. The Maine Science Podcast is hosted and executive produced by Kate Dickerson; edited and produced by Scott Loiselle.
The Discover Maine theme was composed and performed by Nick Parker.
To support our work: https://www.mainediscoverymuseum.org/donate.
Find us online:
Maine Discovery Museum on social media: Facebook Instagram LinkedIn Bluesky
Maine Science Festival on social media: Facebook Instagram LinkedIn
Maine Science Podcast on social media: Facebook Instagram
© 2025 Maine Discovery Museum
Alaina Weinheimer is a postdoctoral fellow at the Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences where she examines how bacteria fight viruses in the ocean. She is particularly interested in jumbo phages, which are phages with really large genomes (> 200 kb). Until recently, they have been largely overlooked in both culture-based and sequencing studies due to their unusually large size that rivals bacteria!
While pursuing her bachelor’s degree in Biology at Penn State, Alaina worked in coral reef ecology labs where she was exposed to the numerous threats to coral and the potential roles of microbes and viruses in mediating or exacerbating these threats.
Alaina was a 5 Minute GeniusTM speaker for the 2023 Maine Science Festival; you can watch her talk on our YouTube Channel: https://youtu.be/9GGe6kZfTHI?si=jcD4QnGj8GticN_J
Our conversation was recorded in June 2023.
~~~~~~
The Maine Science Podcast is a production of the Maine Discovery Museum. It was recorded at Discovery Studios, at the Maine Discovery Museum, in Bangor, ME. The Maine Science Podcast is hosted and executive produced by Kate Dickerson; edited and produced by Scott Loiselle.
The Discover Maine theme was composed and performed by Nick Parker.
To support the Maine Discovery Museum: https://www.mainediscoverymuseum.org/donate.
To support the Maine Science Festival, Maine's first and only science festival available free of charge to all, please visit our donation page.
Find us online:
Maine Discovery Museum on social media: Facebook Instagram
Maine Science Festival on social media: Facebook Twitter Instagram
Maine Science Podcast on social media: Facebook Twitter Instagram
© 2023 Maine Discovery Museum
~~~~~
The Maine Science Podcast is a production of the Maine Discovery Museum. It is recorded at Discovery Studios, at the Maine Discovery Museum, in Bangor, ME. The Maine Science Podcast is hosted and executive produced by Kate Dickerson; edited and produced by Scott Loiselle.
The Discover Maine theme was composed and performed by Nick Parker.
To support our work: https://www.mainediscoverymuseum.org/donate.
Find us online:
Maine Discovery Museum on social media: Facebook Instagram LinkedIn Bluesky
Maine Science Festival on social media: Facebook Instagram LinkedIn
Maine Science Podcast on social media: Facebook Instagram
© 2025 Maine Discovery Museum
Previous Episode
Jessica Leahy (human dimensions)
Jessica Leahy was born and raised in Alaska, adjacent to the second largest state park in the United States. She researches environmental attitudes and behaviors towards forests, forestry, and other natural resource management topics using a social psychology and communication approach. Her work focuses on four populations: outdoor recreationists, forest landowners, natural resource managers, and the “general public.”
Our conversation was recorded in June 2023.
~~~~~~
The Maine Science Podcast is a production of the Maine Science Festival and Maine Discovery Museum. It was recorded at Discovery Studios, at the Maine Discovery Museum, in Bangor, ME. The Maine Science Podcast is hosted and executive produced by Kate Dickerson; edited and produced by Scott Loiselle.
The Discover Maine theme was composed and performed by Nick Parker.
If you want to support the Maine Science Podcast and/or the Maine Science Festival, you can do so at our website mainesciencefestival.org at our donation page.
Find us online:
Website - Maine Science Festival
Maine Science Festival on social media: Facebook Twitter Instagram
Maine Science Podcast on social media: Facebook Twitter Instagram
© 2023 Maine Science Festival
A program of the Maine Discovery Museum
~~~~~
The Maine Science Podcast is a production of the Maine Discovery Museum. It is recorded at Discovery Studios, at the Maine Discovery Museum, in Bangor, ME. The Maine Science Podcast is hosted and executive produced by Kate Dickerson; edited and produced by Scott Loiselle.
The Discover Maine theme was composed and performed by Nick Parker.
To support our work: https://www.mainediscoverymuseum.org/donate.
Find us online:
Maine Discovery Museum on social media: Facebook Instagram LinkedIn Bluesky
Maine Science Festival on social media: Facebook Instagram LinkedIn
Maine Science Podcast on social media: Facebook Instagram
© 2025 Maine Discovery Museum
Next Episode
Jennifer Lund (apiarist)
Jennifer Lund is the Maine State Apiarist. She received her Master’s degree in Entomology from the University of Maine and has over 20 years of entomological experience. Aside from managing the honeybee inspection program and helping Maine beekeepers, Jennifer has several of her own hives she maintains on her farm.
This conversation was recorded in June 2023.
If you'd like to see/listen to Jen's 2020 talk to the Maine Entomological Society, it's online at https://www.maineentosociety.org/webinar-archive/whats-the-buzz-on-bees.
~~~~~~
The Maine Science Podcast is a production of the Maine Discovery Museum. It was recorded at Discovery Studios, at the Maine Discovery Museum, in Bangor, ME. The Maine Science Podcast is hosted and executive produced by Kate Dickerson; edited and produced by Scott Loiselle.
The Discover Maine theme was composed and performed by Nick Parker.
To support the Maine Discovery Museum: https://www.mainediscoverymuseum.org/donate.
To support the Maine Science Festival, Maine's first and only science festival available free of charge to all, please visit our donation page.
Find us online:
Maine Discovery Museum on social media: Facebook Instagram
Maine Science Festival on social media: Facebook Twitter Instagram
Maine Science Podcast on social media: Facebook Twitter Instagram
© 2023 Maine Discovery Museum
~~~~~
The Maine Science Podcast is a production of the Maine Discovery Museum. It is recorded at Discovery Studios, at the Maine Discovery Museum, in Bangor, ME. The Maine Science Podcast is hosted and executive produced by Kate Dickerson; edited and produced by Scott Loiselle.
The Discover Maine theme was composed and performed by Nick Parker.
To support our work: https://www.mainediscoverymuseum.org/donate.
Find us online:
Maine Discovery Museum on social media: Facebook Instagram LinkedIn Bluesky
Maine Science Festival on social media: Facebook Instagram LinkedIn
Maine Science Podcast on social media: Facebook Instagram
© 2025 Maine Discovery Museum
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