Dr. Claire Lager is a Lab Manager and Biological Technician at SNZCBI’s Center for Species Survival in Hawai‘i at the Hawai‘i Institute of Marine Biology under Dr. Mary Hagedorn. The Hagedorn Lab mission is to help protect coral reef species from extinction by cryopreserving gametes, larvae, symbiotic algae, and whole coral fragments.
Claire has worked in the Hagedorn Lab since 2016 and has been involved in many exciting and groundbreaking projects. In 2017, Claire helped create the first ever coral tree nursery and frozen coral sperm repository in Mo‘orea, French Polynesia; 2018, Claire worked with Dr. Hagedorn and collaborators in Curaçao on an assisted gene flow project and successfully produced Elkhorn coral larvae from 10+ year old frozen sperm (Puerto Rico) and fresh eggs (Curaçao); 2016-2023, Claire leads Dr. Hagedorn’s Lab in coral spawning events in Hawai‘i and has helped hone protocols for assessing and successfully cryopreserving coral sperm. Currently, Claire’s main research focus is to help create a conservation-ready protocol for cryopreserving coral algal symbionts and coral larvae.