Alaskan Fisheries Sustainability

I am currently (as of May 2026), employed as a NOAA affiliated research assistant through the University of Washington. My research focuses on creating a fish diet habits database in the Bering Sea, Aleutian Islands, and the Gulf of Alaska.

Lab Work

I dissect and taxonomically identify the stomach contents of groundfish to determine diet habits. My data continues a 40 year+ data set on evolving food habits in Alaska. Common food items include snow and tanner crab, octopus and squid, walleye pollock, shrimp, euphassid, hermit crabs, gammarid amphipod, brittle star, and mysid.

Field Work

I will be spending July 2026 on a three-week research survey in the eastern Bering Sea collecting groundfish stomachs to analyze back in the laboratory. I will additionally be collecting otoliths for age structure studies and environmental data.

Community Outreach

The lab encourages community outreach, including hosting in-lab tours for all ages (children and adults) to see behind-the-scenes and watch us work!

Publications

I prepare data for publication and for numerous researchers, both in and outside of NOAA.

I am currently collaborating with a research scientist on a new publication on walleye pollock diet habits across all three field locations and how they change in both warm and cold years.