Research Interests

Dr. Kinner's main areas of research interest are bioremediation of contaminated subsurface environments and more generally, environmental microbiology. She is a member of the Environmental Research Group (ERG) at UNH and has conducted research on wastewater biofilm microbiology, the role of protists in subsurface contaminant degradation, and petroleum and chlorinated solvent bioremediation.

She has also conducted research on enhanced bioremediation of oil-contaminated salt marshes the effects of acclimation and cold temperatures on bioventing of soils contaminated with No. 2 fuel oil, and MtBE distribution in Paugus Bay, N.H.

Dr. Kinner is the Co-Director of the Coastal Response Research Center. The Center is a partnership between the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Office of Response and Restoration (ORR) and the University of New Hampshire (UNH). The goal of the Center is to reduce the consequences of spills and other hazards that threaten coastal environments and communities by conducting research, developing new response and restoration methods, and transferring technology to practitioners. It serves as a hub for local, national and international oil spill communities. The mission of the Center is to: 1) conduct and oversee basic and applied research on spill response and restoration; 2) transform research results into practice; 3) conduct outreach and encourage strategic partnerships to improve preparedness and response; and 4) educate the next generation of the oil spill community.

Funding and Appointments

Dr. Kinner is the UNH Co-Director of the Coastal Response Research Center (CRRC) which is a funded partnership with the National Ocianic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Dr. Kinner has also received funding from USEPA, the National Science Foundation, the American Water Works Association Research Foundation, the Cooperative Institute for Coastal and Estuarine Environmental Technologies, and the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services.

In Fall 1996 and 1997, Dr. Kinner took sabbatical leave to conduct research on protists at the U.S. Geological Survey (Boulder, CO) and bedrock bioremediation at the Swedish Geotechnical Institute (Link`ping, Sweden), respectively. The latter was funded by a Fulbright Fellowship. She was a member of the National Academy of Sciences Committee on the Risk of Radon in Drinking Water.

Dr. Kinner currently serves as an advisor to the State of New Hampshire on hazardous waste bioremediation and is a member of the State's Waste Management Council. She is also a member of the editorial board of Microbial Ecology and of ASCE, WEF, AWWA, IAWQ, AEESP and ASM.