Junior SeaKeepers 24-25 Webinar 5: Dr. Mikki McComb-Kobza - Endangered Species Science
Virtual
January 16, 2025
Overview
On Thursday, January 16th, 2025, The International SeaKeepers Society hosted the fifth Junior SeaKeepers Program webinar for 2024-25 cohort students. For this virtual industry talk, we were thrilled to have Dr. Mikki McComb-Kobza, a SeaKeepers partner researcher and Executive Director of Ocean First Institute.
Dr. Mikki McComb-Kobza is the Executive Director of Ocean First Institute, a non-profit organization dedicated to marine research, conservation, and education that has reached over 400,000 people with nationally acclaimed conservation projects and compelling educational programming. Mikki is a marine biologist, and her research is focused primarily on the biology, behavior, abundance, and movement of sharks using novel technologies. She has participated in or led over 40 under-sea expeditions, spanning the globe from Darwin to Cape Town, to Manaus, to Hong Kong, and along the east coast of North America from Nova Scotia to Belize. Her research has been covered by the BBC, National Geographic, Discovery Channel’s Shark Week, NPR, and CBC National Radio Canada. She is faculty with CU Boulder Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, the immediate past President of the American Elasmobranch Society and National Fellow of the Explorer’s Club.Mikki holds a Ph.D. in Integrative Biology from Florida Atlantic University and is the author of numerous scientific publications. The collaboration between Ocean First Institute and Seakeepers has been instrumental in advancing the Goliath Grouper research program in the Gulf of Mexico, enabling the development of exciting new initiatives through their generous support.
We concluded the webinar with a Q+A with students, where many questions were centered around different shark species and the adaptations that make them unique. By attending webinars led by SeaKeepers' industry partners and researchers, our Junior SeaKeepers have the opportunity to learn first-hand about the diversity of work that exists in the marine conservation realm. Additionally, students get direct access to accomplished professionals and can see the advancements in the field that are the result of research and exploration happening every day all over the world. Through speaking with Dr. Mikki about her personal history and work in scientific research, we hope that our JSKs were able to get a better idea of the types of career opportunities that exist in the marine world.
You must be logged in to post a comment.