Located in Sarasota, The Roskamp Institute sits at the heart of a southwest coastal community that knows the impact of red tide all too well. But our work doesn’t stop at our local shoreline - we’re always looking for ways to connect with and include participants from across Florida.
This year, that mission took us to Gulf and Bay counties, where an unexpected red tide bloom began late last year and lingered through February 2026. The event was especially notable, as this region does not typically experience red tide, making outreach there both timely and important.
In the second week of January, our PhD student Gregory Aldrich and Clinical Research Coordinator Maria Elena Garcia traveled six hours to Gulf County after receiving an alert about a red tide bloom in the area. Their goal was to connect with and recruit local volunteers. Although red tide is uncommon in this region, some participants in Port St. Joe and Panama City were already familiar with the respiratory symptoms caused by exposure to toxins produced by the microorganism Karenia brevis. However, the neurological effects of this exposure remain less well understood and are a key focus of our research.
While many may picture our researchers working indoors in white lab coats, this week served as a reminder that fieldwork is just as essential to advancing our research. By connecting directly with communities, we can better investigate whether shared genetic factors or preexisting health conditions make certain individuals more vulnerable to the effects of red tide. The more participants we engage from across the state, the stronger our ability to answer this important question.
We would like to thank the staff at the Departments of Health in Bay and Gulf counties for accommodating our study visits.
Partnership strengthens efforts
Even when a red tide bloom is not actively occurring, individuals who have been previously exposed remain a valuable source of information. This is why our partnership with the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation (SCCF) has been so impactful. Through this collaboration, we have been able to connect with participants in Sanibel even during non-bloom periods. This partnership also reflects the broader ecological perspective that underpins our research.
On December 2, Eric Milbrandt, Director of SCCF’s Marine Laboratory, visited the Roskamp Institute to present his work, “Advancing Knowledge on Harmful Algal Blooms in Florida Through Monitoring and Collaboration.” A key focus of his team’s research is identifying the environmental drivers of algal blooms in waterways near Sanibel, including the Caloosahatchee River and Estuary.
“The collaboration with the Roskamp Institute allows us to explore how toxins from red tide and other algal blooms move beyond the waterways and into human populations,” he noted.
Curiosity about the ecosystem right at our doorstep, supported by our partnership with SCCF, not only complements the preclinical focus of our research but also encourages us to think in ways that reflect the complexity and fragility of Florida’s ecology. We are also grateful to the SCCF staff, who are consistently willing to assist us in recruiting study participants from the Sanibel-Captiva and surrounding areas.
If you would like to learn more about the Red Tide brain health related research, please contact (941) 256-8010 or visit our website at https://www.redtidestudy.org/.
Article written by Masha Dolgoff
Intern, The Roskamp Institute
