Dr. Michael Acquafredda is an Assistant Extension Specialist in Aquaculture in the Rutgers University Department of Marine & Coastal Science. In this role, he serves as a bridge between the university and the aquaculture sector.
He earned his BS in Biology from Tufts University in 2015 and his PhD in Ecology and Evolution from Rutgers University in 2021. His dissertation research was conducted at the Haskin Shellfish Research Laboratory and focused on expanding shellfish aquaculture through diversification and selective breeding. In 2020, he was awarded the Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship and worked at the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Ocean Acidification Program to advance domestic and international ocean acidification policy. After completing the Knauss fellowship and a postdoctoral research position with the NOAA Ocean Acidification Program, Dr. Acquafredda was awarded a postdoctoral research fellowship through the National Research Council. For this postdoc, Dr. Acquafredda conducted research on integrated multi-trophic aquaculture systems at the NOAA Northeast Fisheries Science Center. In 2023, Dr. Acquafredda returned to the Rutgers University Haskin Shellfish Research Laboratory as a research scientist, before starting his current faculty position in 2025. Today, Dr. Acquafredda continues to conduct aquaculture research, extension, and education work in New Jersey and beyond.
For more information about Mike’s research, please see his profile on the Rutgers DMCS website at: