ABC at VIMS

Unlocking natures potential through selective breeding and genetic research.

08/20/2026

Our next team member spotlight is Kiley, our Hatchery & Nursery Research Technician!

One of Kiley’s favorite things about ABC is how team-oriented everyone is—especially during the busy hatchery season! Her hard work and dedication in both the hatchery and nursery never go unnoticed.

Our oysters are happier and healthier because of her! We’re so lucky to have Kiley on the team!

08/17/2026

Kicking off the week with our next team spotlight: Robin, our Shellfish Geneticist!

Her favorite part of working with ABC? The amazing team!

From genotyping samples to analyzing phenotypic data, Robin’s expertise and insights help keep our spawning season running smoothly. We’re so grateful to have her on the team!

08/13/2026

Our next spotlight is our Research Coordinator, Shelley! Her favorite part of working with ABC is that no two days are ever the same - there is always something new to learn!

From keeping our projects and chemical spawns organized to making sure our website is up to date, Shelley does a little bit of everything to keep us running smoothly. Thank you for all you do Shelley!

08/11/2026

Our next spotlight is our Hatchery Operations Manager, Amanda! Her favorite part of ABC is getting to interact and brainstorm with industry!

From spawning to nursery season, Amanda plays a huge role in keeping our hatchery operations running smoothly. We truly couldn’t do it without her!

08/08/2026

It is time for some reintroductions! Over the next few weeks, we’ll be shining a spotlight on each of our amazing staff members. You'll get to learn more about the role each person plays at ABC, how they can help you, and a little about who they are outside of work. We’re excited for you to get to know the people behind the scenes!

08/07/2026

Our first spotlight is our director Jess! Her favorite part of working with ABC is how everyday is different and each year brings new challenges.

ABC would not run smoothly without her. Thanks for all you do, Jess!

08/05/2026

Happy National Oyster Day! 🦪

In celebration of our wonderful bivalve buddies, here's a behind-the-scenes look at our lab's disease monitoring program.

Each year from June through November, we conduct sentinel oyster sampling using naïve oysters—meaning they have no natural disease resistance or tolerance. By monitoring these oysters at two of our field sites, we can track both the prevalence (how common infections are) and intensity (how severe infections are) of Dermo.

This long-term monitoring helps us better understand oyster health and disease dynamics in our local waters.

Fun fact: We use RFTM (Ray's Fluid Thioglycollate Medium), a specialized diagnostic method that allows us to detect and measure Dermo infections in oyster tissue.

Have questions about our sampling or oyster health? We'd love to hear from you!

07/24/2026

A few of us had the opportunity to visit and tour Cherrystone Aqua-Farms yesterday! Lexy, Will, and Bubba showed us around the farms and processing facilities. We had a great time chatting and seeing their process!

07/14/2026

We recently had the great opportunity to visit Matheson oyster company! Matheson’s owner, Sarah, gave us a wonderful tour through their facility - from nursery, farm, and state-of-the-art sorting and packaging technology.

07/02/2026

We had a great time touring around the eastern shore earlier this week! We took our OATs and some of our technicians to tour the VIMS Eastern Shore scallop hatchery, Horn Point oyster hatchery, and Ferry Cove shellfish hatchery! We even squeezed some field work in too.

Thank you to each of the labs for letting us come through and share about your facility!

Address

Hayes, VA
23062

Website

https://www.vims.edu/research/units/centerspartners/abc/index.php

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