News Release
WINONA LAKE — The Lilly Center for Lakes & Streams welcomes Annalieze Crawford to the team.
In her role as Research Lab Coordinator, Crawford will ensure quality data collection, oversee lab procedures, and lead algae counting efforts.
“Anna excelled as a Lilly Center college student intern for years and demonstrated a
pursuit of excellence in her work and support of her team,” said Dr. Nate Bosch,
Creighton Brothers Endowed Director of the Lilly Center.
“Her deep knowledge of algae identification and quantification along with her ability to learn new processes will make the Lilly Center’s research more effective in service to our community,” he said.
Crawford invested four years at Grace College, first as an algae team assistant and later
as algae team lead. Through her work in this position, she developed a knowledge of
phycology – the study of algae – and worked closely with Dr. Joe Frentzel, Grace College
professor and psychologist.
In her new role as Research Lab Coordinator, the scope of Crawford’s responsibilities
expands to include overseeing the algae toxin and E. coli teams.
The Indiana Department of Health certified the Lilly Center’s lab to test for E. coli during
the fall of 2024.
Crawford will also support the assistant director of research to ensure that data
collection and reporting are accurate. Collecting high-quality data from Kosciusko
County’s lake and streams gives the Lilly Center a better understanding of what is going
on beneath the surface, leading to practical applications for the Lilly Center’s research.
“I am excited to take this next step in my career and continue building my experience at
the Lilly Center,” said Crawford. “The beauty and diversity of algae species hooked me
early on. Now, I can mentor the next generation of college students as they expand their
skillsets through lab techniques and research.”
Since 2007, the Lilly Center’s lab has made contributions to local and national research
studies and provided recommendations for best practices to steward freshwater lakes
and streams. Studies conducted by the Lilly Center’s lab and research teams include
studies on economic impacts, zebra mussels, E. coli at local beaches, boating, public
sewers, and cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) patterns and predictions.
Through the addition of the Research Lab Coordinator position, the Lilly Center
continues its commitment to transparent data that is available to its partners and the
public. The data collected in the lab supports yearly research publications like Beneath
the Surface, live data on the Lilly Center’s website from 16 stream sensors, and weekly
summer algae toxin notifications.
Learn more about how the Lilly Center by visiting lakes.grace.edu.
