RESEARCH + OUTREACH
RESEARCH + OUTREACH
My Interests in Research
I have tons of interests in the biological sciences and how to communicate science effectively!
Some goals for the future of my research experiences include:
Assist in ecology research or outreach/education programming surrounding Local PNW wildlife/marine life
Launch my own ecology monitoring program on a local PNW species or species of concern
Spend more time in remote field conditions and especially research vessels!
VIDEO ENGINEER
ON E/V NAUTILUS (NA165)
Truly a dream come true, I participated in my first-ever expedition with the one-and-only Ocean Exploration Trust onboard the E/V Nautilus!
From watching ROV livestreams in middle school and high school, to working the same exact equipment that got me excited about the deep sea in the first place, it was an incredibly full-circle moment for me to work on this expedition in American Samoa. View the expedition overview site here, and check out my introduction post with the Nautilus here!
Aside from video things, I got to help out with much more than I could have expected! From rock-cutting, to ROV arm painting, it was a whirlwind of fun science across the board.
Some of my highlight clips as the camera operator are available on my video portfolio. Let me know what clip is your favorite!
Curious about the application process and overall experience as a whole? I’ve written a few fieldnote entries about this expedition!
STUDENT RESEARCHER
@ FRIDAY HARBOR LABS
View my presentation on marine isopod feeding preferences and eelgrass wasting disease with my research partner Megan Cosand below! After studying Marine Botany and Invertebrate Zoology, I will be continuing to collaborate with FHL to make outreach, tabling, and education materials associated with the labs and their programming.
View my research paper here
View our research poster here
Stream Team Manager & Senior Scientific Advisor
@ PUGET SOUND LIVE!
In collaboration with underwater videographer and photographer, Drew Collins, from Made in Puget Sound, we are working to make the wonders of the Puget Sound and Salish Sea accessible to all with our live-streamed dive events!
My role in this project as Sr. Scientific Advisor is to engage with audience members and their questions while chatting back and forth with Drew as he dives. As the Stream Team Manager, I also manage on-deck interactions between our crew members to make sure all runs smoothly, as there are PLENTY of moving parts, cables, and electronics.
We are working to track our finds during our dives, Photo-ID all the critters we discover during our encounters, and work to implement water parameter measurements into our tracking to see how temperature, salinity, winds, tides, and currents fluctuate in the various regions of the Puget Sound.
Remote Imagery and Field Assistant
@ NOAA Marine Mammal Laboratory (MML/AFSC)
In collaboration with the UW School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences and NOAA's Marine Mammal Laboratory, I joined the Steller Sea Lion project during the summer of 2023 in the Aleutian Islands and back home in Seattle at the West Regional Office to work on everything Steller Sea Lion.
Aside from the field component of this position, my role was to manually review images from the camera stations (aka camera traps) along the Western Aleutian Island chain, and flag photos that contained a marked/branded animal with a special ID.
Eventually, MML will compare how AI and Machine Learning compare to a human (me!) when it comes to identifying sea lions in these same exact pictures. This is an excellent test of reliability and Machine Learning training to make science a bit easier for folks who deal with lots of data and content.
In the field, we conducted UAS (drone) surveys, manual resights using binoculars and long-lens cameras, and maintenance of the remote imagery stations. In addition to these imagery-based projects, multiple days were dedicated to handling pups to collect biological samples, assess health conditions, and to brand the next generation of pups critical to the overall ongoing study. Learning to live off a research vessel was a blast and many more practical skills like skiff loading/unloading came in handy. It was truly an adventure of a lifetime!
RESEARCH ASSISTANT
WITH CARE FOR THE STRANDED
Photo: Jonathan Vanderweit.
In the summer of 2022, I served as a research assistant for the "Care for the Stranded" walkshop in collaboration with the Henry Art Gallery and Learning Endings. My role was to capture the happenings of Lincoln Park over a 3-month duration in the summer, specifically tracking marine mammal sightings and interactions with nearshore activity.
Aside from focusing on marine mammal interactions, I had to Photo-ID and dissect other marine ecological interactions occurring at the site and presented these findings to the lead team (Patty Chang and Aleksija and Astrida Neimanis) every month with a portfolio of photos and written reports. These efforts served to help them construct a culminating event in the following September for the public to engage with and learn from our work.
ASSISTANT RESEARCHER
FOR HUMMINGBIRD BIOLOGGING ETHICS
@ THE BEHAVIORAL ECOPHYSICS LAB
Throughout 2022-2023, I worked alongside PhD Candidate Alyssa Sargent and a team of undergrads to manually analyze videos of tagged versus untagged hummingbirds from Colombia. I created behavior ethograms of the birds using the program BORIS, in what is called a “biologging ethics” project. Essentially, we wanted to find out if hummingbird backpacks (tags) altered the behavior of the birds. If they do - behaviors would differ in treatments with and without tags. If they do not alter behavior, behaviors should remain the same in all treatments.
Photo: Alyssa Sargent
MULTISPECTRAL PHOTOGRAPHER FOR
HUMMINGBIRD WING COLORATION
@ THE BEHAVIORAL ECOPHYSICS LAB
Hummingbird plumage is AMAZING! Vibrant colors seen on hummingbirds are the result of light refracting off physical structures within the bird’s feathers, rather than pigments. How does that work? And what colors are we NOT seeing?
In collaboration with the Burke Museum and researcher Nora Lee, I worked with a specialized multispectral photography setup in the Burke’s biology labs to photograph spread-wing specimens under varying conditions to quantify values of color, even we humans can’t see!
HUMMINGBIRD SUGAR RUSH
HUMMINGBIRD SUGAR RUSH
Outreach board game by Alyssa Sargent, with photo/video support by yours truly!
What I look for in Research Experiences
I seek research projects with strong potential for public engagement, aiming to make STEM more accessible and rekindle the excitement of learning—bringing back the “Magic School Bus” wonder. Curiosity and fun make knowledge memorable, while dry, application-less information often doesn’t stick.
I want to reframe scientists' roles, blending "behind-the-scenes" research with effective communication to the public, policymakers, and especially younger generations. Research is only valuable if it’s shared and understood.
As a Filipina who moved to the U.S. as a child, I aspire to inspire young girls, especially in underrepresented communities, to explore STEM confidently. To enhance my skills in outreach and education, I’ve consistently engaged in science communication throughout my research career.