University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee ($90,000)This $90,000 grant will support a two-year, Master’s level research position in Sandra McLellan’s lab at the School of Freshwater Sciences. The McLellan Lab was awarded $1,539,819 to refine the science of DNA sequencing and to reduce the public health risks that fecal pollution poses. However, this funding does not include resources to apply research findings to local water quality challenges. The lab position that this grant supports will therefore focus on and advance local efforts to improve water quality in the Milwaukee River Basin and near shore areas of Lake Michigan.