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
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
Microbial Ecology
Michigan Bacteriological Research Laboratory (MI-BaRL)
Bacteriological Research — Lansing, Michigan
Ohio Microbiology Program - Home
Science and Products
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Collaborative Science Provides Understanding of Contaminants in Bottled Water-an Increasingly Common Alternate Drinking Water Source
U.S. Geological Survey researchers and public health experts collaborated to determine what contaminants occur in bottled water, which is an increasingly common alternate drinking water source, to broaden their understanding of human exposure to contaminants in drinking water supply chains. Bottled water, like public-supply and private-well tap water supply chains, contained multiple organic...Costs and Benefits of Nitrapyrin
In December 2020, our research group (as part of the Food Integrated Science Team) published a review of nitrapyrin costs and benefits in the journal Environmental Science & Technology.Southwest Wisconsin Groundwater and Geology (SWIGG) study
The fractured bedrock aquifers of southwest Wisconsin are often overlain by shallow soils, so private wells are potentially vulnerable to contamination by nitrate and pathogens from the land surface. The goal of this study is to evaluate the extent and causes of private well water contamination in three southwest Wisconsin counties.Bacterial Pathogens
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Michigan Bacteriological Research Laboratory (MI-BaRL) studies the source, occurrence, and distribution of the bacterial pathogens Shiga-toxin producing E. coli (STEC), Salmonella, Shigella, Campylobacter, Enterococcus, and Staphylococcus and the relation of occurrence of pathogens with fecal indicator bacteria, land-use, season, hydrology, geology, weather...Enhance Great Lakes Beach Recreational Water Quality Decision Making
Important questions about beach closures and management remain unanswered in the Great Lakes where over 500 beaches are routinely used along the nearly 11,000 miles of coastline. The economies of coastal areas are dependent on public confidence in the quality of water at the shoreline, and beach managers need reliable science-based information to make beach closure and beach management decisions...Antibiotic Resistance
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Michigan Bacteriological Research Laboratory (MI-BaRL) conducts research on antibiotic-resistant bacteria and their genes. We have concentrated our studies on antibiotic-resistant bacteria of human-health concern, including vancomycin-resistant enterococci, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), and Klebsiella and E. coli resistant to third-generation...Microbial Source Tracking
It is often important to understand the source of fecal indicator bacteria, pathogens, or chemicals that impair the normal use of water. Antibiotic-resistant bacteria and their genes, specific bacterial pathogens (such as E. coli O157:H7 which is primarily associated with cattle), and host-associated bacterial genes (such as human or animal specific Bacteroides genes), can be used to evaluate the...Microbiological Water Quality
Recreational water and industrial discharges are regulated by other federal and state agencies across the country. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Michigan Bacteriological Research Laboratory (MI-BaRL) conducts studies to understand the fate and transport of fecal indicator bacteria in surface and groundwater to aid state and federal partners. A variety of standardized protocols are used to...Microbial Ecology
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Michigan Bacteriological Research Laboratory (MI-BaRL) conducts ecological studies on the structure and function of eubacterial and archeal communities in the environment. Studies of this type give us basic information about the composition and functionality of different microbial communities and allow us to investigate the effects that natural and anthropogenic...Michigan Bacteriological Research Laboratory (MI-BaRL)
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Michigan Bacteriological Research Laboratory (MI-BaRL) is a newly renovated laboratory space operated by the USGS Michigan Water Science Center in Lansing, MI. The laboratory is staffed by two Ph.D. level microbiologists and five M.S. level microbiologists with a combined 70 years of experience in microbiology and water resources research. The USGS MI-BaRL...Bacteriological Research — Lansing, Michigan
About the ResearchThe Environmental Health Program collaborates with microbiologists at the Michigan Bacteriological Research Laboratory (MI-BaRL). A wide array of traditional and modern molecular approaches are used to evaluate microbial pathogens and antimicrobial resistance pathways in the environment. The scientists use these approaches to advance the understanding of how environmental...Ohio Microbiology Program - Home
The U.S. Geological Survey MI-OH Water Science Center Microbiology Laboratories in Lansing, Michigan and Columbus, Ohio address water-related public-health concerns across the Nation using traditional and cutting-edge analytical approaches. The laboratories work with government agencies, academic institution, and regional and local partners to study the processes and anthropogenic influences that... - Data
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*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