Area of Interest:

- Recreational and shellfish harvesting water quality
- Marine microbial ecology
- Coastal and estuarine water quality
- Environmental microbiology
- Microbial contaminants in recreational and shellfish harvesting waters
- Molecular applications and novel methods development

Education:

University of Southern California. Ph. D. Marine Biology, 1998.
    Dissertation:  Fates of Viruses in the Marine Environment

Carnegie Mellon University. B.S. Molecular Biology, 1991.

Professional Background:

Dr. Noble's research program bridges both applied and basic science. As a marine microbial ecologist she studies the dynamics of marine microbial food webs, specifically focusing on viral control of bacterial and algal populations. I am also interested in the relationships between viruses, bacteria, and phytoplankton in terms of nutrient cycling in estuarine and coastal marine environments. She is also interested in issues related to recreational water quality, water quality of shellfish harvesting areas, and anthropogenic inputs to coastal ecosystems. Dr. Noble's current research projects are listed below. There is a special emphasis in her laboratory on the development of new, rapid techniques for detection of microorganisms in the water column, with a special focus currently on the use of Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (QPCR). She is currently involved in several research projects on both the Pacific and Atlantic coasts of the United States.

Current Highlighted Research Projects in the Noble Laboratory:

• Epidemiological studies to assess of microbial contaminants pertinent to swimming related illnesses at Doheny Beach, Orange County, CA. 
• North Carolina Department of Environmental and Natural Resources funded project titled:  Monitoring, Prioritization, and Assessment of Ocean Outfalls of Stormwater in Dare County, North Carolina.
• Tracking microbial indicator and pathogen transport through conventional on site septic systems.  This project examines the rate of microbial transport from septic systems to receiving waters in eastern North Carolina. 
• Development of Fecal Coliform TMDLs using Bayesian Modeling and Novel Molecular Monitoring Approaches.  This project involves the use of advanced molecular techniques to track fecal contamination in a large watershed in eastern NC with high priority shellfish harvesting waters. The data will be used to populate a probabilistic model which will assist in successful implementation of a local TMDL for the Newport River
• Impacts of Anthropogenic Change on the Ecology of Human Pathogens in a Eutrophying Estuary: The Neuse River Estuary, NC: NSF/NIH Ecology of Infectious Disease Program (for more information please see http://www.unc.edu/~dcrawfor/eid.htm). 

If interested in any of the previous projects listed, please contact Dr. Noble, as she is actively searching for qualified students for graduate education at UNC Chapel Hill and qualified applicants for post-doctoral and technician positions available in the laboratory.

Dr. Noble is an Institute for the Environment (IE) faculty member, and is the Director of the IE Institute of Marine Sciences Morehead City Field Site. For more information on the Institute for the Environment please visit: http://www.ie.unc.edu.

Dr. Noble is also coordinating research efforts to develop interdisciplinary research programs that will study the coastal zone as a hybrid ecosystem of both natural and man-made elements. Given Dr. Noble's work in environmental microbiology and water quality, she also shares an adjunct appointment with the Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering. For more information on that department please visit: http://www.sph.unc.edu/envr/

Selected Publications:

Five Recent Publications:

J. S. Fries, Noble, R.T., Kelly, G.M., and Characklis, G.W.  2007. Sediment-water exchange of Vibrio sp. and fecal indicator bacteria: implications for persistence and transport in the Neuse River Estuary, North Carolina, USA.  In press. Journal of Water Research.

Hsieh, J. L., Fries, J. S., and R. T. Noble.  2008.  Dynamics and Predictive Modeling of  Vibrio Spp. in the Neuse River Estuary, NC. Journal of Environmental Microbiology. 10(1):57-64.


Hsieh, J., J. S. Fries, and R. T. Noble. 2007.  Vibrio and phytoplankton dynamics in a eutrophying estuary.  Journal of Ecological Applications.  17 (5) Supplement, pp S102-S109.

Fries, J. S., R. T. Noble, H. W. Paerl, and G. W. Characklis. 2007. Particle suspensions and their regions of effect in the Neuse River Estuary: Implications for water quality monitoring.  Estuaries and Coasts.  30 (2):359-364.

Fuhrman, J. A. Patel, A., Steele, J. Hewson, I., Schwallbach, M. and R. T. Noble.  2007.  Virus and prokaryote enumeration from planktonic marine environments by epifluorescence microscopy with SYBR Green I. Nature Protocols. 2 (2): 269-276.