Assistant Professor of Biomedical Sciences, Richard Melvin, PhD recently received funding from the Minnesota Sea Grant Program to monitor surface water near eight Duluth beaches for the presence of COVID-19. The project titled, “Monitoring the Presence of SARS-CoV2 Virus in Surface Waters Connected to Public Recreation Sites” aims to provide the sound, scientific information that public officials, the tourism industry and Minnesotans need to make informed decisions about water recreation activity.

The project is part of a cooperative effort among the University of Minnesota Medical School, Duluth Campus, University of Minnesota Institute for Health Informatics, University of Minnesota School of Public Health and the Minnesota Department of Health.

This project is supported by a Minnesota Sea Grant 2020 Program Development Grant.