In celebration of International Day of Women and Girls in Science, OCEARCH is excited to highlight some of our incredible collaborators. Throughout February we will showcase inspiring women making an impact on science.
Dr. Kim Ritchie
Associate Professor of Genetics and Prokaryotic Cell Biology
Department of Natural Sciences
Dr. Kim Ritchie, an OCEARCH collaborator, is actively shaping the future of marine science. She is an associate professor in the Department of Natural Sciences at the University of South Carolina Beaufort. Her research focuses on marine microbiology, specifically exploring how microbes influence the health of various marine animals, including sharks. We asked her how she became interested in marine science, see her answers below.
What inspired your interest in the field of Marine Science?
My research advisor, Dr. Garriet W. Smith, was a huge influence in my interest and focus on marine science. I did undergraduate research with him on marine microbiology of coral reefs. This was at a time when very little was done in that area. That led to big discoveries and pretty much niched me into marine microbiology of corals and other marine hosts.
Can you tell me about your research and studies? What has been the most exciting project you’ve worked on?
My research focused on diseases of corals and other invertebrates early on. Today I focus on beneficial microbes in marine hosts, such as corals and sharks. The most exciting aspect of my research was the discovery of beneficial bacteria on corals that help keep them healthy by producing antibiotics. This research has led to a new field of science and the use of beneficial microbes as probiotics for coral diseases. More recently my research focuses on sharks and their bacteria that may play a role in wound healing. This has led to the discovery of antibiotic-producing bacteria that may be used as novel antibiotics for human health.
Do you have a favorite marine animal?
I love cephalopods! Squids and, particularly octopuses, fascinate me. They are incredibly smart for animals that have such a short lifespan. They have amazing abilities to change color and texture in an instant to blend into their surroundings, communicate or attract a mate.
What advice would you give to young people who are interested in pursuing a career in Marine Science?
Get into research early on in your undergraduate studies, and possibly in your high school years. Find someone whose research fascinates you and badger them via email until you wear them down! Also, keep an open mind about areas of research that are not mainstream or that are just emerging. This will give you a big advantage going forward. For example, I never set off to be a marine microbiologist, but it got me in the field. It has turned out to be a valuable and neglected area of research, allowing me to work on whatever animal I want! After all, all animals have microbes associated with them and most are understudied.
Dr. Gretchen Bielmyer-Fraser
Millar Wilson Professor of Environmental Chemistry | Environmental Toxicologist | Chemistry
Dr. Gretchen Bielmyer-Fraser, an OCEARCH collaborator, is making a significant impact on the future of ocean health. She is an associate professor in the Chemistry Department at Jacksonville University. Her research focuses on how organisms respond to contaminants (with a focus on metals) exposure and the interactions with other chemical components in the marine ecosystem. We asked her how she became interested in marine science, and her answers are below.
What inspired your interest in the field of Marine Science?
I have always loved animals and the ocean, and had an interest in Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Science.
Can you tell me about your research and studies? What has been the most exciting project you’ve worked on?
I study how pollutants interact in aquatic systems and how they affect organismal health.
Do you have a favorite marine animal?
Dolphins are my favorite, but I also love sharks, corals, sea anemones and a variety of other species.
What advice would you give to young people who are interested in pursuing a career in Marine Science?
Be open to learning new things and take advantage of research opportunities. Even if the research is not directly aligned with what you think you want to do, learning new skills can help you in the future.
Dr. Emily Christianson
North Carolina Aquariums, DVM, MPH, Dipl, ACZM
Chief Veterinarian
Dr. Emily Christianson, an OCEARCH collaborator and Chief Veterinarian for the North Carolina Aquariums, oversees the health and well-being of various marine animals at all three aquariums along the NC coast. During expeditions with OCEARCH, she had the opportunity to engage in some exciting research projects. These included studying sand tiger shark reproduction as well as shark metabolomics. We asked her how she became interested in marine science, and her answers are below.
What inspired your interest in the field of Marine Science?
I always loved water as a small child, and spent many vacations in the Florida Keys non-stop snorkeling and naming all the fish (Norman the Needlefish was a permanent resident for many years). I started doing internships in college: first a summer with a wildlife rehab center (loved it), then investigated aquatics with a summer doing observational whale research on whale watch boats (learned SO much, but also that I didn’t really love it), then kind of combined the two with an internship in dolphin and sea turtle rehab (loved even more, and quite possibly might still be there if THEY hadn’t kicked me out to go to vet school). Aquatic animal medicine is super closely related to wildlife medicine – meaning we are still pretty much constantly improvising and inventing new ways to do things, and have no idea whether something is going to work until trying it, which is what really drew me to the field.
Can you tell me about your research and studies? What has been the most exciting project you’ve worked on?
I am a veterinarian for public aquariums, which means I get to both take care of animals in our collections, as well as be involved in wildlife response and rehabilitation (mainly sea turtles), and assist with a variety of research projects involving marine animals. One of the exciting things I’ve been able to take part in is field captures and tagging of leatherback sea turtles, catching giant ~1000 pound sea turtles in the middle of the ocean, doing health assessments, and putting satellite tags on them before releasing them in the same place. Very much like what we do with OCEARCH, just on a tiny floating raft, and with a few less teeth!
Do you have a favorite marine animal?
I have several ‘favorites’ for different reasons, but at the top of the list have to be pufferfish, sharks, and sea turtles. Pufferfish just for their gregarious nature and generally adorable appearance. Sharks mostly due to the level of mystery – there’s so VERY much we don’t know about them, and the allure of trying to answer some of these questions is super strong for me. And sea turtles because they are just such resilient animals, and even though we don’t often think of reptiles this way, each one is totally an individual, with their own preferences, behaviors, and ‘personalities’.
What advice would you give to young people who are interested in pursuing a career in Marine Science?
My biggest and best advice that I can offer to students interested in marine science is to try not to get too fixated on a single path or ‘dream’ job. I suggest exploring any opportunities that seem interesting, and see where they take you – I think it’s a lot more fruitful to think of it as a process of ruling out what you DON’T want to do, rather than possibly working for years and years towards a single specific goal that might not end up being something you really love.
