Alumni and Careers

What have you been up to since graduating from Bowdoin?

After graduating, I enrolled in a one-year master’s program in bioacoustics in France, where I studied the vocal behavior of the African Penguin. I am excited to continue this work as a PhD student under my current supervisor for the next three years.

Why biology?

Whenever people ask “why biology?” I always think, “What else?” What drew me to the major was not only my passion for animals, but also the broadness of the department. Through the Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology concentration, I gained not only a strong foundation in broad biological knowledge but also specific skills in fields like marine biology and animal behavior, which have been essential in my graduate studies. I would not have been able to pursue my dream of working in animal behavior research without the passionate mentorship of the Bowdoin biology faculty.

Are there any classes, professors, or experiences that had a lasting impact on you?

Professor Amy Johnson's Marine Biology was certainly a highlight of my Bowdoin career, because it really taught me to think like a biologist!

What advice would you give to current students or recent graduates interested in your field?

Don’t be afraid to reach out to people! You can often create your own opportunities by sending a simple email—worst case, you have a great conversation and get some good advice.

What have you been up to since graduating from Bowdoin?

After graduating from Bowdoin, I spent a summer at the Bowdoin Scientific Station on Kent Island and then went straight to graduate school. I am now in my third year as a PhD student in the Population Biology Graduate Group at the University of California, Davis. My research is based in Rarotonga, a small island in the South Pacific, where I’m collaborating with a local environmental NGO to study how coral microbiomes support environmental stress tolerance.

Why biology?

I am acutely aware of the ecological challenges posed by climate change and am committed to pursuing research that advances conservation and restoration efforts.

Are there any classes, professors, or experiences that had a lasting impact on you?

The Bowdoin Coastal Studies Semester (formerly Bowdoin Marine Science Semester) was absolutely transformative. Through the program, I learned so much about coastal ecosystems, gained firsthand experience with how scientific research actually works, and was even inspired to pursue marine ecology at the graduate level. Also, a big shoutout to Barry Logan’s Plant Ecophysiology class!

What advice would you give to current students or recent graduates interested in your field?

Take advantage of the research funding opportunities offered by Bowdoin, especially during the summers. There are many excellent chances to gain hands-on experience working with faculty and conducting research, and Bowdoin will even provide funding to support you!

What have you been up to since graduating from Bowdoin?

During my time at Bowdoin, I volunteered with Alzheimer's and dementia patients and researched how crickets heal after central nervous system injuries with Professor Horch. After graduating in 2022, I pursued my interest in the brain and nervous system as a clinical research coordinator at the UCSF Memory and Aging Center, where I worked with patients with frontotemporal dementia. This experience deepened my understanding of how brain degeneration affects memory, language, and behavior. I also gained valuable insights into the workings of large healthcare teams, observing how various clinicians—including physicians, nurses, speech-language pathologists, neuropsychologists, and genetic counselors—collaborate to understand rare dementia diagnoses. After two years at UCSF, I applied to medical school and am now a first-year student at the University of Michigan Medical School.

Why biology?

After taking a psychology class in high school, I became fascinated by the brain and its biological underpinnings. When it came time to choose a major at Bowdoin, I found myself torn between neuroscience and biology. Ultimately, I opted for biology because it offered the flexibility to explore neuroscience while also delving into other subjects that intrigued me. For instance, I was eager to take Plant Ecophysiology, driven by my love for plants (I’m definitely a proud plant mom!). I wanted to understand their inner workings. I also became interested in Developmental Biology, especially the developing nervous system, after one of my neurobiology courses. The labs in the biology program have been a highlight for me, too! In my Intro to Neurobiology lab, my classmates and I created a cricket colosseum to investigate whether the presence of female crickets would heighten male aggression and fighting. In my Developmental Biology lab, I enjoyed drawing the different stages of sea urchin and chick embryo development, which beautifully combined my interests in art and biology. Overall, I appreciate how the biology major has allowed me to explore a wide range of topics—from cellular mechanisms to human systems, and even plant biology—enabling me to see the interconnectedness of life.

Are there any classes, professors, or experiences that had a lasting impact on you?

Molecular Neurobiology with Professor Hadley Horch.

What have you been up to since graduating from Bowdoin?

After graduating from Bowdoin, I knew I wanted to go to graduate school but had no idea what I wanted to study—there were so many options! To figure it out, I spent a few years moving around the continent to test different research foci and gain a range of field skills. I worked in environmental education for a while as a naturalist with the Appalachian Mountain Club in New Hampshire and the Casper Mountain Science program in Wyoming. I also got a research fellowship with the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute studying the foraging decision-making of frog-eating bats in Panamá. I kept finding myself returning to working with birds, however, after internships with HawkWatch International in Utah and the National Audubon Society in South Carolina. I decided to pursue ornithology in graduate school, and in 2024 started my PhD at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign studying the migration ecology of Kirtland’s Warblers.

Why biology?

I always come back to Charles Darwin’s ‘tangled bank' metaphor when thinking about the ways various life forms have interacted and co-evolved through space and time to create the incredible diversity of life we have today. Of course, this diversity is at risk due to anthropogenic impacts like climate change and habitat destruction, so I also appreciate how biological research allows us to leverage the scientific method to inform better, more effective conservation and management methods.

Are there any classes, professors, or experiences that had a lasting impact on you?

Research in Ecology, Evolution, & Marine Biology with Patty Jones.

What have you been up to since graduating from Bowdoin?

When I graduated from Bowdoin, I had the opportunity to immediately pursue my passion for marine biology with a Thomas J. Watson Fellowship. I traveled to the Cayman Islands, South Africa, Australia, Malaysia, and Panama to explore how local communities are involved in sea turtle ecotourism. These experiences shaped how I think about the balance between natural resource conservation and sustainable use. I built on this in my PhD in ecology, evolution, and marine biology at UC Santa Barbara, where I examined how the removal of large predators by fishing alters food webs, while also exploring how sustainable fishing regulations can be designed to minimize these effects. I became a scientific diver and completed more than 700 dives over the course of my PhD. I also became a certified boat captain and drove my team out to the Channel Islands offshore of Santa Barbara.

I moved back to the East Coast for my postdoctoral fellowship at Rutgers University in New Jersey, where I developed expertise in understanding the links between social and ecological systems and how climate change is impacting both marine food webs and coastal fishing communities. In 2019, I had the opportunity to testify to the House Subcommittee on Water, Oceans, and Wildlife on the effects of climate change on US fisheries. I am now an assistant professor at Wellesley College in Massachusetts, where I am continuing my research on the effects of climate change on marine ecosystems and fisheries.

I am also focused on training my students in science communication to make an impact. I collaborate with government scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), allowing us to integrate research findings with policymaking. My current research examines the climate-driven expansion of the blue crab range north from their native range in the Chesapeake Bay, resulting in rapid increases in abundance in southern New England and first-time occurrences in the Gulf of Maine. My students and I are working with oyster farmers and shellfish harvesters to identify hotspots of blue crab abundance and are using laboratory experiments and historical data analysis to understand how the blue crab range expansion will affect shellfish in the region.

Why biology?

I’ve always been interested in understanding why animals live where they do and the adaptations that influence how they interact with the environment and other species. I chose Bowdoin because it was unique as a liberal arts college where I could play ice hockey and study marine biology. My favorite class at Bowdoin was Marine Biology, where the field labs took us to the incredible coastal environments of Maine. I took full advantage of the Coastal Studies Center, conducting experiments for my senior honors thesis on how urchins responded to crab cues, in collaboration with Professor Amy Johnson and Research Affiliate Olaf Ellers. We found that crabs induced the urchins to have thicker skeletons and smaller gonads, affecting the urchins’ growth rate. Our work was published in the journal Marine Biology.

What advice would you give to current students or recent graduates interested in your field?

The one-on-one research mentoring I experienced at Bowdoin was transformative, giving me an authentic sense of what it means to conduct scientific research and to navigate both successes and failures along the way. My Bowdoin mentors continued to guide me throughout my career, from helping me choose a graduate school to sharing course materials with me as a newly minted assistant professor. Those relationships will last a lifetime!