Purcell, M., G. Mackey, E. LaHood, H. Huber, and L. Park. 2004. Molecular methods for the genetic identification of salmonid prey from Pacific harbor seal (Phoca vitulina richardsi ) scat. Fish. Bull. 1002: 213-220.
Maureen K Purcell, Ph.D.
Maureen leads a team of scientists, technicians, post-doctoral researchers, graduate students and visiting scientists working to improve methods for the detection of fish pathogens, determine factors affecting the epidemiology of fish diseases, and develop novel control strategies for reducing losses among both hatchery-reared and wild fish.
Biography
Education:
Ph.D. 2005. Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
M.S. 1997. Zoology, University of Maine, Orono, ME
B.S. 1993. Zoology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA
Research Interests:
The Fish Health Section studies infectious diseases of fish, molecular taxonomy and epidemiology of fish pathogens, ecology of fish diseases in wild populations and fish host defenses. A portion of our time is spent providing technical assistance to other federal, state and tribal fisheries agencies, including activities such as training, technology transfer and rapid response to emerging fish pathogens.
Experience:
2017 to Present - Chief, Fish Health Section, U.S. Geological Survey, Western Fisheries Research Center, Seattle, WA
2014 to Present - Affiliate Associate Professor, Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
2008-2016 - Research Microbiologist, U.S. Geological Survey, Western Fisheries Research Center, Seattle, WA
2005 - 2008 - Microbiologist, U.S. Geological Survey, Western Fisheries Research Center, Seattle, WA
1999 - 2000 - Contractor, NOAA Fisheries, Northwest Fishery Science Center, Seattle, WA
1997 - 1999 - Professional Research Assistant, The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, ME
Honors, Awards, Recognition, Elected Memberships:
2016 - Presidential Early Career Service Award for Scientists and Engineers
2012 - U.S. Geological Survey, Western States Diversity Award group award to Fish Health Section
2012 - American Fisheries Society, Most significant paper in Journal of Aquatic Animal Health
2009 - U.S. Geological Survey, Best Professional Paper in Biology by a New Scientist
2008 - American Fisheries Society, Most significant paper in Journal of Aquatic Animal Health
2004 - Faculty Merit Award, U.W. School of Aquatic and Fisheries Sciences
Academic and Professional Service:
Associate Editor - Journal of Aquatic Animal Health
Editorial Board - Fish and Shellfish Immunology
Editorial Board - Journal of Virological Methods
Professional Societies:
American Fisheries Society - Fish Health Section
European Association of Fish Pathologists
Science and Products
Date published: December 17, 2020
Status: Active Partners - FHP
For more than five decades the WFRC Fish Health Program has worked with partners to provide research findings to managers of aquatic resources. Those partners form a network of colleagues, co-investigators, and customers. Our partners include Department of the Interior bureaus, tribal and state fisheries agencies, other federal partners and the private sector.
Contacts: Maureen K Purcell, Ph.D.
Attribution: Fish Health Program (FHP)
Date published: December 17, 2020
Status: Active Fish Health Program Lead Scientists and Areas of Expertise
Lead Scientists - Expertise
Contacts: Maureen K Purcell, Ph.D.
Attribution: Fish Health Program (FHP)
Date published: December 16, 2020
Status: Active Species Studied by the Fish Health Program
List of species studied by the Fish Health Program. These species include bacteria, fish, parasites, and viruses. The list contains both common and scientific names. Descriptions of species and studies can be found under the "Related Science" tab.
Contacts: Maureen K Purcell, Ph.D.
Attribution: Fish Health Program (FHP)
Date published: December 15, 2020
Status: Active Tribal Collaboration - Fish Health Program (FHP)
The Fish Health Program has a strong commitment to respond to requests for research and technical support from Tribal fisheries agencies.
Contacts: Maureen K Purcell, Ph.D.
Date published: October 18, 2018
Status: Active Herring Disease Program
Using an approach that involves a combination of field- and laboratory-based studies, we are investigating fish health factors that may be contributing to the failed recovery of Pacific herring populations in Prince William Sound, AK. Field studies are providing infection and disease prevalence data to inform the population models, serological data that indicate the prior exposure history and...
Date published: September 4, 2018
Status: Active Detection Protocols - Renibacterium salmoninarum
Protocols for the Detection of Renibacterium salmoninarum in salmon
Contacts: Maureen K Purcell, Ph.D.
Date published: August 24, 2018
Status: Active Ichthyobodo - FHP
Fish Diseases
Ichthyobodo
Contacts: Maureen K Purcell, Ph.D.
Date published: July 12, 2018
Status: Active Research on Emerging Viruses of Salmonids - FHP
At the request of the State of Washington, the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission (NWIFC) and the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), the Western Fisheries Research Center has been providing technical advice and conducting research regarding the emergence of IHNV in the watersheds of coastal Washington State.
Contacts: Maureen K Purcell, Ph.D.
Date published: July 12, 2018
Status: Active Emerging Viruses - FHP
Fish Diseases
Emerging Viruses
Contacts: Maureen K Purcell, Ph.D., Gael Kurath, Ph.D.
Date published: July 12, 2018
Status: Active Nucleospora Salmonis - FHP
Fish Diseases
Nucleospora Salmonis
Contacts: Maureen K Purcell, Ph.D.
Date published: July 12, 2018
Status: Completed Whirling Disease - FHP
Fish Diseases
Whirling Disease
Contacts: Maureen K Purcell, Ph.D.
Date published: July 12, 2018
Status: Active Bacterial Kidney Disease (BKD) - FHP
Fish Diseases
Bacterial Kidney Disease (BKD)
Contacts: Maureen K Purcell, Ph.D.
Date published: January 1, 2018
Dataset: Molecular testing of adult Pacific salmon and trout (Oncorhynchus spp.) for several RNA viruses demonstrates widespread distribution of piscine orthoreovirus (PRV) in Alaska and Washington
Dataset for the publication 'Molecular testing of adult Pacific salmon and trout (Oncorhynchus spp.) for several RNA viruses demonstrates widespread distribution of piscine orthoreovirus (PRV) in Alaska and Washington'. This research was initiated in conjunction with a systematic, multi-agency surveillance effort in the United States (U.S.) in response to reported findings of in
Date published: January 1, 2017
Detection of Nanophyetus salmincola in water, snails and fish tissues by quantitative PCR
The data are used to support the development and validation of two quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) assays to detect the parasite Nanophyetus salmincola DNA in water samples and fish and snail tissues. The data link to a series of experiments that are described in the publications. Experiment 1 defines the linearity and detection limits of the assays. Experiment 2 assesses the...
Year Published: 2021
Disruption of the Francisella noatunensis orientalis pdpA gene results in virulence attenuation and protection in zebrafish
Several Francisella spp. including F. noatunensis are regarded as important emerging pathogens of wild and farmed fish. However, very few studies have investigated the virulence factors that allow these bacterial species to be pathogenic in fish. The Francisella Pathogenicity Island (FPI) is a well-described, gene-dense region...
Hansen, John; Ray, Karina; Chen, Po-Jui; Yun, Susan; Elliott, Diane G.; Conway, Carla M.; Culcutt, Michael; Purcell, Maureen K.; Welch, Timothy J; Bellah, John Patrick; Davis, Ellie Maureen; Greer, Justin Blaine; Soto, Esteban
Year Published: 2021
Herring Disease Program - Annual Project Report 2012011-E, February 1, 2010-January 31, 2021
We will investigate fish health factors that may be contributing to the failed recovery of Pacific herring populations in Prince William Sound. Field samples will provide infection and disease prevalence data from Prince William Sound and Sitka Sound to inform the age structured assessment (ASA) model, serological data will indicate the prior...
Hershberger, Paul; Purcell, Maureen K.Attribution: Western Fisheries Research Center, Ecosystems, Fish & Wildlife Disease, Fisheries Program, Fish Health Program (FHP), Marrowstone Marine Field Station (MMFS)
View Citation
Hershberger, P. and M. Purcell. 2021. Herring Disease Program - Annual Project Report 2012011-E, February 1, 2010-January 31, 2021. Program number 20120111-E. Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council, 26 p.
Year Published: 2021
Temperature variation and host immunity regulate viral persistence in a salmonid host
Environmental variation has important effects on host–pathogen interactions, affecting large-scale ecological processes such as the severity and frequency of epidemics. However, less is known about how the environment interacts with host immunity to modulate virus fitness within hosts. Here, we studied the interaction between host immune responses...
Páez, David J.; Powers, Rachel L.; Jia, Peng; Ballesteros, Natalia; Kurath, Gael; Naish, Kerry A.; Purcell, Maureen K.
Year Published: 2021
Long-term shedding from fully convalesced individuals indicates that Pacific herring are a reservoir for viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus
Processes that allow viral hemorrhagic septicemia (VHS) virus to persist in the marine environment remain enigmatic, owing largely to the presence of covert and cryptic infections in marine fishes during typical sub-epizootic periods. As such, marine host reservoirs for VHS virus have not been fully demonstrated, nor have the mechanism(s) by which...
Hershberger, Paul; Mackenzie, Ashley; Gregg, Jacob L.; Wilmot, M. D.; Powers, Rachel L.; Purcell, Maureen K.
Year Published: 2021
Differential susceptibility of Yukon River and Salish Sea stocks of Chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha to ichthyophoniasis
Preliminary evidence suggests that Chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha from the Yukon River may be more susceptible to Ichthyophonus sp. infections than Chinook from stocks further south. To investigate this hypothesis in a controlled environment, we experimentally challenged juvenile Chinook from the Yukon River and from...
Elliott, Diane G.; Conway, Carla M.; McKibben, Constance L.; Mackenzie, Ashley; Hart, Lucas M.; Groner, Maya; Purcell, Maureen K.; Gregg, Jacob L.; Hershberger, Paul
Year Published: 2021
Effect of temperature on survival of Lost River Suckers with a natural infection of Ichthyobodo spp.
To compensate for low natural survival of endangered Lost River Suckers Deltistes luxatus, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Klamath Tribes have initiated captive rearing programs. We conducted laboratory experiments intended to determine the temperature for optimum growth of juvenile Lost River Suckers; however, due to an...
Martin, Barbara A.; Burdick, Summer M.; Purcell, Maureen K.; Powers, Rachel L.
Year Published: 2021
Exploration of the 2016 Yellowstone River fish kill and proliferative kidney disease in wild fish populations
Proliferative kidney disease (PKD) is an emerging disease that recently resulted in a large mortality event of salmonids in the Yellowstone River (Montana, USA). Total PKD fish mortalities in the Yellowstone River were estimated in the tens of thousands, which resulted in a multi‐week river closure and an estimated economic loss of US$500,000....
Hutchins, Patrick Ross; Sepulveda, Adam J.; Hartikainen, Hanna; Staigmiller, Ken D.; Opitz, Scott T.; Yamamoto, Renee M.; Huttinger, Amberly; Cordes, Rick J.; Weiss, Tammy; Hopper, Lacey R.; Purcell, Maureen K.; Okamura, Beth
Year Published: 2021
Novel diagnostic tests for the putative agent of bacterial gill disease in Pacific razor clams (Siliqua patula)
Nuclear inclusion X (NIX) is a gamma proteobacteria that infects the nuclei of gill epithelial cells in Pacific razor clams. NIX has been associated with clam die-offs in coastal Washington. A quantitative PCR (qPCR) assay was developed to detect NIX in Pacific razor clams, and assay specificity was confirmed by chromogenic in situ...
Travis, Brooke A; Batts, William N.; Groner, Maya; Hershberger, Paul; Fradkin, Steven C.; Conway, Carla M.; Park, Linda; Purcell, Maureen K.
Year Published: 2020
Disease in Central Valley salmon: Status and lessons from other systems
Chinook Salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) are increasingly vulnerable to anthropogenic activities and climate change, especially at their most southern species range in California’s Central Valley. There is considerable interest in understanding stressors that contribute to population decline and in identifying management actions that reduce the...
Lehman, Brendan M; Johnson, Rachel C.; Adkison, Mark; Burgess, Oliver T; Connon, Richard E; Fangue, Nann A.; Foott, Scott J; Hallett, Sascha L; Martínez-López, Beatriz; Miller, Kristina M.; Purcell, Maureen K.; Som, Nicholas A.; Valdes-Donoso, Pablo; Collins, Alison L
Year Published: 2020
Genomes reveal genetic diversity of Piscine orthoreovirus in farmed and free-ranging salmonids from Canada and USA
Piscine orthoreovirus (PRV-1) is a segmented RNA virus which is commonly found in salmonids in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. PRV-1 causes the Heart and Skeletal Muscle Inflammation (HSMI) disease in Atlantic salmon and is associated with several other disease conditions. Previous phylogenetic studies of genome segment 1 (S1) identified four...
Siah, Ahmed; Breyta, B. R.; Warheit, K. I.; Gagne, N; Purcell, Maureen K.; Morrison, Diane B.; Powell, J. F. F.; Johnson, S. C.
Year Published: 2020
Consequences of Piscine orthoreovirus genotype 1 (PRV‐1) infections in Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha ), coho salmon (O. kisutch ) and rainbow trout (O. mykiss )
Piscine orthoreovirus genotype 1 (PRV‐1) is the causative agent of heart and skeletal muscle inflammation (HSMI) in farmed Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.). The virus has also been found in Pacific salmonids in western North America, raising concerns about the risk to native salmon and trout. Here, we report the results of...
Purcell, Maureen K.; Powers, Rachel L.; Taksdal, Torunn; Mckenney, Douglas; Conway, Carla M.; Elliott, Diane G.; Polinski, Mark; Garver, Kyle A.; Winton, James
Year Published: 2020
Herring Disease Program II 19120111-E - 2019 Annual Report
We will investigate fish health factors that may be contributing to the failed recovery of Pacific herring populations in Prince William Sound. Field samples will provide infection and disease prevalence data from Prince William Sound and Sitka Sound that will inform the ASA model, serological data that will indicate the prior exposure history and...
Hershberger, Paul; Purcell, Maureen K.Attribution: Western Fisheries Research Center, Ecosystems, Fisheries Program, Fish Health Program (FHP), Marrowstone Marine Field Station (MMFS)
View Citation
Hershberger, P., and M. Purcell. 2020. Herring Disease Program II - 2019 Annual Report. EVOSTC Annual Project Report. Project Number 19120111-E. 10 p.
Pre-USGS Publications
Lage, C., M. Purcell, M. Forgarty, and I. Kornfield. 2001. Microsatellite evaluation of haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus) stocks in the northwest Atlantic Ocean. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 58: 982-990. DOI: 10.1139/cjfas-58-5-982.
Purcell, M.K., J-L. Mu, D.C. Higgins, R. Elango, H. Whitmore, S. Harris, and B. Paigen. 2001. Fine mapping of Ath6, a quantitative trait locus for atherosclerosis in mice. Mammalian Genome 12(7): 495-500. DOI: 10.1007/s00335001-0006-9.
Interdecadal heterogeneity of mitochondrial DNA in Atlantic haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus) from Georges Bank
Purcell, M.K., I.L. Kornfield, M.J. Fogarty and A. Parker. (1996) Interdecadal heterogeneity of mitochondrial DNA in Atlantic haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus) from Georges Bank. Molecular Marine Biology and Biotechnology. 5:185-192.
Date published: December 13, 2017
Western Fisheries Science News, November 2017 | Issue 5.11
USGS and Chinese Fish Health Specialists Meet in the People's Republic of China to Discuss Fish Health
Attribution: Western Fisheries Research Center, Fish Health Program (FHP)
Date published: July 12, 2017
Western Fisheries Science News, June 2017 | Issue 5.6
Dr. Diane Elliott Retires After Long Distinguished Career
Attribution: Western Fisheries Research Center
Date published: May 15, 2017
Western Fisheries Science News, April 2017 | Issue 5.4
Dr. Jim Winton Retires After Long Distinguished Career
Attribution: Western Fisheries Research Center
Date published: April 6, 2016
Western Fisheries Science News, March 2016 | Issue 4.3
Understanding the Effects of Temperature on Diseases in Fish
Date published: January 5, 2015
Western Fisheries Science News, December 2014 | Issue 2.12
WFRC’s Bacterial Kidney Disease Research and Its Relation to the Great Lakes Fisheries
Attribution: Western Fisheries Research Center, Fish Health Program (FHP)
Date published: October 1, 2014
Western Fisheries Science News, September 2014 | Issue 2.9
WFRC Hosts Visiting Scientists from Norway
Attribution: Western Fisheries Research Center, Fish Health Program (FHP)