Alexandrea Duscher

Dr. Lexi Duscher is originally from Minnesota and lived in Florida for 11 years before moving to the Virginia coast. She obtained her bachelor's in Marine Science with a focus on marine sponge disease at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, FL. Dr. Duscher then attended graduate school at the Space Life Sciences Lab in Merritt Island, FL through the University of Florida where she studied the microbial genetics of stromatolites and the impact of a  space-like environment on a beneficial squid symbiosis (Vibrio fischeri and Euprymna scolopes) and innate immunity. Her first postdoc position at the Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience was focused on the innate immune response in stem cell regeneration of a cnidarian model system, Hydractinia. Dr. Duscher's second postdoc, which transitioned to a Research Scientist position, was conducted at the Virginia Seafood AREC, working on fish cell culture. Currently, Dr. Duscher is teaching Dual Enrollment Marine Science at Chesapeake Bay Governor's School and is continuing research in fish cell culture in association with VSAREC and Institute for Bioengineering and Biosciences at the University of Lisbon. In her free time, she enjoys being outside at the beach, fishing, camping, hiking, and spending time with her husband and their pup Hazelnut.