TreVaughn Ellis is a recent graduate of American University, and winner of the Scott A. Bass Outstanding Scholarship Award. During his studies, he interned as a researcher with the National Marine Fisheries Service, part of NOAA, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, in Alaska.

In this episode, he describes his research in Alaska, where he studied lampreys and their parasites, bringing new light to the relationship between these fish and other commercially and culturally important species, such as cod and salmon. 

He is an advocate for greater scientific research of many of the ocean’s understudied co-dependencies if we are to save it, and with it, the livelihoods of many coastal communities that rely on the health of our ocean.

He also discusses his involvement with the not-for-profit group Black in Marine Science. He describes the loneliness of working in a largely white field of research, the one tweet from Dr Tiara Moore that led to the formation of the network, and what it has done to give voice and connection to Black marine scientists.

Host

Jon Baston-Pitt, Fugro