Jan H. Landsberg
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Jan H. Landsberg is a biologist, researcher, and author. Her professional research interests in biology have particular focus on aquatic animal and environmental health.


Early life and education

Landsberg was born in London, England on 2 April 1954 and grew up in North Finchley, London. She currently resides in St. Petersburg, Florida, U.S. Landsberg's early education took place in North Finchley, where she attended Comrie House elementary school, and high school,
Woodhouse Grammar School Woodhouse Grammar School was a secondary school in Woodhouse Road, North Finchley, in the London Borough of Barnet. The school took in new pupils from 1944 to 1978 at which time the final intake of first years entered and it was called Woodho ...
. She received a BSc in Zoology from the University of Exeter,
Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...
, England in 1975 and her Ph.D. ( Biology) from Queen Mary College, University of London in 1981.


Research

Landsberg currently works for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Landsberg has authored dozens of peer-reviewed papers including ''Effects of Harmful Algal Blooms on Aquatic Organisms'', which was published in ''Reviews in Fisheries Science'' in 2002. The paper has been cited in over 1,000 papers. Much of her early research largely focused on
coccidian Coccidia (Coccidiasina) are a subclass of microscopic, spore-forming, single-celled obligate intracellular parasites belonging to the apicomplexan class Conoidasida. As obligate intracellular parasites, they must live and reproduce within an a ...
and other parasites in fish. Additionally, she has researched fibropapillomatosis in Florida sea turtles. Landsberg is widely recognized for her work with biotoxins including the Florida red tide organism ''
Karenia brevis ''Karenia brevis'' is a microscopic, single-celled, photosynthetic organism in the genus '' Karenia''. It is a marine dinoflagellate commonly found in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. It is the organism responsible for the "Florida red tides" t ...
''. Beginning in 2002, she was the agency lead on an investigation of human illness from consuming puffer fish caught in the
Indian River Lagoon The Indian River Lagoon is a grouping of three lagoons: the Mosquito Lagoon, the Banana River, and the Indian River, on the Atlantic Coast of Florida; one of the most biodiverse estuaries in the Northern Hemisphere and is home to more than 4,300 ...
(IRL), in Florida. The investigation included the coordination of a multiagency (state, federal) team that identified, for the first time in the U.S., that saxitoxin was produced by the harmful algal bloom species ''
Pyrodinium bahamense ''Pyrodinium'' was first discovered in 1906 in the waters around New Providence Island in the Bahamas. ''Pyrodinium'' is a Monotypic taxon, monospecific species with two varieties, ''Pyrodinium bahamense'' var. ''compressum'' and ''Pyrodinium bah ...
'', and was the source of the poisonings. Saxitoxin in Florida pufferfish can be fatal to humans. The findings from this investigation led to the closure of the pufferfish fishery in the IRL and the continuing monitoring of shellfish beds to ensure they are not contaminated with the toxin. Landsberg is currently involved in two major multi-partner collaborative research investigations in estuaries and coastal areas in Florida. The first is to determine why manatees have been dying in the IRL since 2013. The second is to identify the cause of a major unidentified disease(s) affecting multiple species of corals in the Florida reefs. The diseases are having a major impact and killing thousands of corals. It is a national and international issue.


Writing

Landsberg's interest in the environment and sciences extends to her work as a writer. Her writing focuses on nature's mysteries and myths. Her first novel, ''The Curse of the Crystal Kuatzin'' was published in 2013. In 2014, the book received a Gold from the Literary Classics International Book Awards and Reviews in the Young Adult Fiction category, and was a finalist in the 2014 Dante Rossetti Award in the Young Adult Novels category. Her second book, an exposé of UFOs and their origin, ''UFOs Unmasked'',Landsberg, Jan H. (2018). UFOs Unmasked. CreateSpace. was published in August 2018.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Landsberg, Jan H. 1954 births Living people English biologists Alumni of the University of Exeter Alumni of Queen Mary University of London