Upper Midwest Water Science Center and Michigan Bacteriological Research Lab (MI-BaRL) Supervisory Research Hydrologist, Carrie Givens, shows Secretary of Interior Deb Haaland a cyanobacteria culture grown from Lake Superior water.
Carrie E Givens, PhD
Carrie Givens is the Environmental Microbiology Team Lead at the United States Geological Survey Upper Midwest Water Science Center. She is a Microbiologist with the Michigan Bacteriological Research Laboratory (Lansing, MI).
Carrie Givens is the Environmental Microbiology Team Lead at the United States Geological Survey Upper Midwest Water Science Center. She leads and collaborates on research exploring bacterial pathogens and antibiotic resistance in the environment, microbial communities associated with harmful algal blooms, and the influence of the environment and chemical contaminants on the host microbiome. She has a B.S. in Biology from the University of South Carolina Honors College and a Ph.D. in Marine Science from the University of Georgia.
Professional Experience
U.S. Geological Survey, 03/2014-present
Upper Midwest Water Science Center, Lansing, MI 48911
Microbiologist, Lead for Environmental Microbiology Team
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 02/2013-02/2014
Fish and Aquatic Conservation, Arlington, VA 22203
Fish and Wildlife Biologist - Knauss Sea Grant FellowUniversity of Georgia, 08/2007-12/2012
Department of Marine Sciences, Athens, GA 30602Advisor: Dr. James T. Hollibaugh
Graduate Research AssistantDissertation: A Fish Tale: Comparison of the Gut Microbiome of 15 Fish Species and the Influence of Diet and Temperature on its Composition
U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 03/2011-05/2011
Gulf Coast Seafood Laboratory, Dauphin Island, AL 36528
Public Health Oceans & Human Health InternProject Focus: Investigation of the fish intestine and sediment as potential reservoirs of Vibrio vulnificus and Vibrio parahaemolyticus
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 06/2010-08/2010
Hollings Marine Laboratory, Charleston, SC 29412
NOAA Oceans & Human Health InternProject Focus: Comparison of the microbial communities associated wi
Undergraduate Researcher - Senior Honors Thesis, 10/2006-05/2007
University of South Carolina Honors College, Columbia, SC 29201
Thesis Director: Dr. Rudolph E Mancke
Second Reader: Dr. Thomas J. Hilbish
Comparison of the ancestral armadillo fossil record with the current species distribution of the nine-banded armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus) in the Southeastern United States
Environmental Intern, 05/2005-08/2005
Santee Cooper Power, Moncks Corner, SC 29461
Undergraduate Researcher - Honors Independent Study, 01/2005-05/2005
University of South Carolina Honors College, Columbia, SC 29201
The Care and Use of Small Animals in Education at Riverbanks Zoo
Education and Certifications
Ph.D. in Marine Science, 08/2007-12/2012, University of Georgia (UGA), Athens, GA
B.S. in Biology with minor in Marine Science with Honors, 08/2003-05/2007, University of South Carolina Honors College, Columbia, SC
International Student, 02/2006-07/2006, University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand
Affiliations and Memberships*
Member, Bioscience Advisory Committee for Wilson Talent Center (Lansing, MI)
Honors and Awards
Dean John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship, 2013
Pre-Doctoral Fellowship, NOAA Oceans & Human Health Initiative, 2008-2011
Science and Products
Statewide Assessment of Iowa Streams Links Landscape Characteristics to Antibiotic Resistance Signatures
Bacteriological Research Core Technology Team
Environmental detection of avian influenza virus
A National Assessment of Pesticide, PFAS, Microplastic, and Antibiotic Resistance Gene Exposures in White-Tailed Deer
Collaborative Science Provides Understanding of Contaminants in Bottled Water-an Increasingly Common Alternate Drinking Water Source
Costs and Benefits of Nitrapyrin
Southwest Wisconsin Groundwater and Geology (SWIGG) study
Bacterial Pathogens
Enhance Great Lakes Beach Recreational Water Quality Decision Making
Antibiotic Resistance
Microbial Source Tracking
Microbiological Water Quality
Sampling information and water-quality data collected during viable avian influenza virus sampling in Iowa wetlands, 2022
Chemical Concentrations and Microbiological Results for Assessment of Mixed-Organic/Inorganic Chemical Exposures in Tapwater in Mead, Nebraska, June 2022 and January 2023
Antibiotic and Antibiotic Resistance Signatures in Iowa Streams, 2019
Target-Chemical Concentrations and Microbiological Results for Assessment of Mixed Contaminant and Biological Exposures in Bottled Water, 2020
Microbial and chemical contaminant occurrence and concentration in groundwater and surface water proximal to large-scale poultry facilities and poultry litter, 2016
Nutrients, estrogenicity, and fecal indicators in surface water collected from wetlands in the Klamath Marsh National Wildlife Refuge, Oregon, 2017-2018
Upper Midwest Water Science Center and Michigan Bacteriological Research Lab (MI-BaRL) Supervisory Research Hydrologist, Carrie Givens, shows Secretary of Interior Deb Haaland a cyanobacteria culture grown from Lake Superior water.
MI-BaRL research team displaying laboratory equipment used in developing avian influenza research methods
linkThe Michigan Bacteriological Research Laboratory (MI-BaRL) research team (L to R) Laura Hubbard, Erin Stelzer, Alexei Rose, Molly Richard and Anlin Larson displaying essential tools used in developing laboratory methods to detect infectious avian influenza virus (AIV) in freshwater. The team will deploy these methods for environmental surveillance.
MI-BaRL research team displaying laboratory equipment used in developing avian influenza research methods
linkThe Michigan Bacteriological Research Laboratory (MI-BaRL) research team (L to R) Laura Hubbard, Erin Stelzer, Alexei Rose, Molly Richard and Anlin Larson displaying essential tools used in developing laboratory methods to detect infectious avian influenza virus (AIV) in freshwater. The team will deploy these methods for environmental surveillance.
(L to R) Research Hydrologist Laura Hubbard, Supervisory Hydrologist Carrie Givens, and Microbiologist Erin Stelzer pose with filtration spike experiment equipment at the Michigan Bacteriological Research Laboratory (MI-BaRL) in Lansing, Michigan.
(L to R) Research Hydrologist Laura Hubbard, Supervisory Hydrologist Carrie Givens, and Microbiologist Erin Stelzer pose with filtration spike experiment equipment at the Michigan Bacteriological Research Laboratory (MI-BaRL) in Lansing, Michigan.
A U.S. Geological Survey analyst performs DNA extractions on enriched cultures of water from the study area. Once the DNA was extracted it was used to detect pathogen gene markers using polymerase chain reaction (PCR).
A U.S. Geological Survey analyst performs DNA extractions on enriched cultures of water from the study area. Once the DNA was extracted it was used to detect pathogen gene markers using polymerase chain reaction (PCR).
Role of tributary cyanobacterial and nutrient transport and sediment processes on cyanobacterial bloom initiation in Lake Superior nearshore
Comparing modern identification methods for wild bees: Metabarcoding and image-based morphological taxonomic assignment
Conserved grasslands support similar pollinator diversity as pollinator-specific practice regardless of proximal cropland and pesticide exposure
Environmental surveillance and detection of infectious highly pathogenic avian influenza virus in Iowa wetlands
Simultaneous stream assessment of antibiotics, bacteria, antibiotic resistant bacteria, and antibiotic resistant genes in an agricultural region of the United States
Role of trace metal co-limitation in cyanobacterial blooms of Maumee Bay (Lake Erie) and Green Bay (Lake Michigan)
Energy-related wastewater contamination alters microbial communities of sediment, water, and amphibian skin
Juxtaposition of intensive agriculture, vulnerable aquifers, and mixed chemical/microbial exposures in private-well tapwater in northeast Iowa
Wild bee exposure to pesticides in conservation grasslands increases along an agricultural gradient: A tale of two sample types
Bottled water contaminant exposures and potential human effects
Food, beverage, and feedstock processing facility wastewater: A unique and underappreciated source of contaminants to U.S. streams
Pilot-scale expanded assessment of inorganic and organic tapwater exposures and predicted effects in Puerto Rico, USA
Science and Products
Statewide Assessment of Iowa Streams Links Landscape Characteristics to Antibiotic Resistance Signatures
Bacteriological Research Core Technology Team
Environmental detection of avian influenza virus
A National Assessment of Pesticide, PFAS, Microplastic, and Antibiotic Resistance Gene Exposures in White-Tailed Deer
Collaborative Science Provides Understanding of Contaminants in Bottled Water-an Increasingly Common Alternate Drinking Water Source
Costs and Benefits of Nitrapyrin
Southwest Wisconsin Groundwater and Geology (SWIGG) study
Bacterial Pathogens
Enhance Great Lakes Beach Recreational Water Quality Decision Making
Antibiotic Resistance
Microbial Source Tracking
Microbiological Water Quality
Sampling information and water-quality data collected during viable avian influenza virus sampling in Iowa wetlands, 2022
Chemical Concentrations and Microbiological Results for Assessment of Mixed-Organic/Inorganic Chemical Exposures in Tapwater in Mead, Nebraska, June 2022 and January 2023
Antibiotic and Antibiotic Resistance Signatures in Iowa Streams, 2019
Target-Chemical Concentrations and Microbiological Results for Assessment of Mixed Contaminant and Biological Exposures in Bottled Water, 2020
Microbial and chemical contaminant occurrence and concentration in groundwater and surface water proximal to large-scale poultry facilities and poultry litter, 2016
Nutrients, estrogenicity, and fecal indicators in surface water collected from wetlands in the Klamath Marsh National Wildlife Refuge, Oregon, 2017-2018
Upper Midwest Water Science Center and Michigan Bacteriological Research Lab (MI-BaRL) Supervisory Research Hydrologist, Carrie Givens, shows Secretary of Interior Deb Haaland a cyanobacteria culture grown from Lake Superior water.
Upper Midwest Water Science Center and Michigan Bacteriological Research Lab (MI-BaRL) Supervisory Research Hydrologist, Carrie Givens, shows Secretary of Interior Deb Haaland a cyanobacteria culture grown from Lake Superior water.
MI-BaRL research team displaying laboratory equipment used in developing avian influenza research methods
linkThe Michigan Bacteriological Research Laboratory (MI-BaRL) research team (L to R) Laura Hubbard, Erin Stelzer, Alexei Rose, Molly Richard and Anlin Larson displaying essential tools used in developing laboratory methods to detect infectious avian influenza virus (AIV) in freshwater. The team will deploy these methods for environmental surveillance.
MI-BaRL research team displaying laboratory equipment used in developing avian influenza research methods
linkThe Michigan Bacteriological Research Laboratory (MI-BaRL) research team (L to R) Laura Hubbard, Erin Stelzer, Alexei Rose, Molly Richard and Anlin Larson displaying essential tools used in developing laboratory methods to detect infectious avian influenza virus (AIV) in freshwater. The team will deploy these methods for environmental surveillance.
(L to R) Research Hydrologist Laura Hubbard, Supervisory Hydrologist Carrie Givens, and Microbiologist Erin Stelzer pose with filtration spike experiment equipment at the Michigan Bacteriological Research Laboratory (MI-BaRL) in Lansing, Michigan.
(L to R) Research Hydrologist Laura Hubbard, Supervisory Hydrologist Carrie Givens, and Microbiologist Erin Stelzer pose with filtration spike experiment equipment at the Michigan Bacteriological Research Laboratory (MI-BaRL) in Lansing, Michigan.
A U.S. Geological Survey analyst performs DNA extractions on enriched cultures of water from the study area. Once the DNA was extracted it was used to detect pathogen gene markers using polymerase chain reaction (PCR).
A U.S. Geological Survey analyst performs DNA extractions on enriched cultures of water from the study area. Once the DNA was extracted it was used to detect pathogen gene markers using polymerase chain reaction (PCR).
Role of tributary cyanobacterial and nutrient transport and sediment processes on cyanobacterial bloom initiation in Lake Superior nearshore
Comparing modern identification methods for wild bees: Metabarcoding and image-based morphological taxonomic assignment
Conserved grasslands support similar pollinator diversity as pollinator-specific practice regardless of proximal cropland and pesticide exposure
Environmental surveillance and detection of infectious highly pathogenic avian influenza virus in Iowa wetlands
Simultaneous stream assessment of antibiotics, bacteria, antibiotic resistant bacteria, and antibiotic resistant genes in an agricultural region of the United States
Role of trace metal co-limitation in cyanobacterial blooms of Maumee Bay (Lake Erie) and Green Bay (Lake Michigan)
Energy-related wastewater contamination alters microbial communities of sediment, water, and amphibian skin
Juxtaposition of intensive agriculture, vulnerable aquifers, and mixed chemical/microbial exposures in private-well tapwater in northeast Iowa
Wild bee exposure to pesticides in conservation grasslands increases along an agricultural gradient: A tale of two sample types
Bottled water contaminant exposures and potential human effects
Food, beverage, and feedstock processing facility wastewater: A unique and underappreciated source of contaminants to U.S. streams
Pilot-scale expanded assessment of inorganic and organic tapwater exposures and predicted effects in Puerto Rico, USA
*Disclaimer: Listing outside positions with professional scientific organizations on this Staff Profile are for informational purposes only and do not constitute an endorsement of those professional scientific organizations or their activities by the USGS, Department of the Interior, or U.S. Government