Patrick McGinn holds the position of Senior Research Officer at the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) and is based in Ketch Harbor, Nova Scotia. Dr. McGinn joined the NRC in 2008 as a Research Officer and was appointed to lead NRC’s Algae Biotechnology team in 2014. Before joining the NRC, Dr. McGinn held post-doctoral positions at Princeton University and Mount Allison University. He completed his Ph.D. at the Australian National University in 2003 and he holds undergraduate degrees in biology and geology.
Dr. McGinn directs applied research bioprospecting the vast diversity of microalgae in a search for strains suited to the production of value-added products and services. His team has focused on microalgae strain isolation, screening and selection for targeted traits as well as biomass valorization through the extraction and analysis of high-value products. Since 2012, Dr. McGinn and his team have published 29 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters on many aspects of algal biotechnology including wastewater treatment, CO2 conversion, photo-bioreactor development, analysis of biomass proteins, oils, carbohydrates and carotenoids, and algal bio-actives in addition to other topics of interest.