Expedition Leader

In my early life, like many, I was strongly influenced by Cousteau and his wonderful films (I own them all) that brought the underwater world into our living rooms. With Cousteau in mind, I learned to SCUBA dive in high school and began pursuing underwater photography. I began photography with a small yellow camera called a Minolta Weathermatic that my father gave to me and I published my first image in a magazine titled “Freshwater and Marine Aquarium” in 1984. The image was of a French Angelfish, Pomacanthus paru that I took on Palancar reef in Cozumel, Mexico.

In college, I studied Oceanography and Marine Ecology at the Florida Institute of Technology and received a PhD in Cellular and Molecular Biology from Brown University. For research, I spent time at the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute first in the Aquaculture Program raising unicellular algae as a food source for bivalve mollusks and then in the Chemical Engineering Department where I characterized a chemical called potassium superoxide to be used as a CO₂ scrubber and oxygen producer for the Johnson Sea-Link Manned Research Submersible. I worked at Harvard Medical School studying the role of motor proteins in transporting organelles with neurons, at Brown University studying actin-based transport, and at the National Institutes of Health identifying kinesins in the nervous system through a genetic-based approach. Currently, I am a tenured faculty member in the Biology Department at Providence College. Throughout my career, I have spent many summers at the Marine Biological laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts first as a SCUBA diver collecting marine organisms for biological research, then carrying out research as a student, postdoc, or professor. Currently, I hold an adjunct faculty position at the MBL in the Bell Center for Regenerative Biology. My research focuses on the function of the amyloid precursor protein (APP) a causative agent in Alzheimer’s disease.

My research group and I work in the field of Neuroscience and I teaching Neurobiology at PC. Much of our work utilizes microscopy and sophisticated imaging techniques to study the distribution of APP within neurons. At PC, I teach two imaging courses one in light and one in electron microscopy, and my students and I use a wide variety of microscopes from bright field, dark field, DIC, confocal, and wide field fluorescence to transmission and scanning EM. In addition, I teach in the Continuing Education Program at the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan in the Department of Fine Arts. There, I teach professional artist how to use microscopes to capture images of life. I personally and professional use microscopes in my own artwork. Many of the images on this website I took using microscopes as a tool for both art and science. I have been part of a number of art exhibitions including the 2015 “Istanbul is Contemporary” exhibition in Istanbul Turkey and I have a solo show at the Falmouth Artist Guild from July 13th to August 22, 2016 titled “Art in a Magnified World”.

Throughout my career, I have maintained a strong interest in marine biology. I split my time between Woods Hole, Providence, and Manhattan. I live on my sailboat during the summer months and spend time sailing and boating in Vineyard Sound. I’m an avid diver and have dove extensively along the North Atlantic Coast, Florida, and the Caribbean and my dive travels have taking me to California, Micronesia, and Thailand.

Currently as this website aims to outline, I am interested in carrying out a series of expeditions in the style of Cousteau in which we assemble a team of explorers, artists, scientists, divers, photographers, naturalists, and lovers of nature and the environment to search, explore, discover, and rediscover the great ecosystems of the world. We will document our experiences through still, time-lapse, and video imaging and use this work in magazines, films, and on the web for educational and entertainment purposes. Particularly important to me is the use of microscopes on these expeditions as they provide a unique perspective on life and the world around us. To date, I have carried out a number of expeditions to the Caribbean and to the Canary Islands and our next expedition will be to the Island of Bonaire in August of 2016. Some of the expeditions are land-based and others are aboard sailboats. We incorporate diving, snorkeling, underwater photography and video, sailing, art, and a little science along the way. We plan to make serious contributions to art, science, and education and to learn more about the world and ourselves. Please join me and my team on our next great adventure.

Joe DeGiorgis, PhD
Expedition Leader