Gerald Heslinga

Background

About Gerald Heslinga

Gerald Heslinga is a marine biologist who specializes in the reproduction and developmental biology of tropical marine organisms. Educated at Harvard and the University of Hawaii, Gerald has completed contracts in 18 countries in the tropical and subtropical Asia-Pacific region. 1995-2023 * President/Founder at Indo-Pacific Sea Farms of Hawaii (29th year), an international leader in the development of environmentally sustainable approaches to the production and domestication of tropical marine organisms * Developed novel methods for commercial scale production of seaweed-derived, protein-binding sulfated polysaccharides (heparinoids), and phycocolloids, with wide-ranging biomedical applications. These include cardiovascular health, oncology, virology and inflammation.* Developed novel production technology for sustainable, land-based culture of red, green and brown tropical macroalgae species; now in our 26th year of continuous production and superior strain selection * Completed tens of thousands of domestic and international shipments of captive-bred, sustainably-produced marine organisms. IPSF ships nationwide daily. 1981-1995 * Developed novel, sustainable, mass production techniques for a family of threatened and endangered reef-dwelling molluscs, the Tridacnidae, impacting 17 collaborating Indo-Pacific nations * Developed the most efficient meat producing system in the history of agriculture, using the bivalve mollusc Tridacna derasa, the world’s first photosymbiotic farm animal * Established the world’s first giant clam gene bank by demonstrating reliable, sustainable mass cultivation through multiple generations Interests: Algae, symbiosis, seaweed, biopolymer, phycocolloid, heparinoid, sulfated polysaccharide, glycobiology, cholesterol reduction, anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-viral, anti-tumor, anti-coagulant, HSV, HPV, heparan sulfate, selectin inhibitor, extravasation, VEGF inhibitor, angiogenesis, wound treatment, basal cell carcinoma, cervical cancer