Mission Statement

Founded by the NIH's National Center of Research Resources in 1995, the National Resource for Aplysia on the campus of UM's Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science is the only place in the world where Aplysia californica are cultured.

The primary goal of National Resource for Aplysia is to provide a reliable, year-round supply of all life stages of Aplysia californica for research and education.

A secondary goal of the National Resource for Aplysia is to promote advanced science education and community awareness of the relevance of the work being performed by our researchers. To this end, the Aplysia facility offers educational tours, advanced academic workshops and seminars to students, youth groups, educators and visiting scientists from around the world. Volunteer internships are also offered to qualified undergraduates with an interest in marine biology, aquaculture, animal husbandry and general biological research techniques. The facility also accepts a limited number of outstanding High School Students for Executive Internship programs sponsored by the Miami-Dade County Public School system.