ESA Selects 2022 Graduate Student Policy Award Recipients
The Ecological Society of America (ESA) announced the Katherine S. McCarter Graduate Student Policy Award (GSPA) 2022 cohort, which includes two UC Davis Coastal and Marine Sciences Institute affiliates, Jessica Griffin and Sophie Zhu. This award provides graduate students with the opportunity to participate in a virtual Congressional Visits Day.
These students learn about the legislative process and federal science funding before meeting virtually with their Members of Congress to discuss the importance of federal investments in the biological and ecological sciences. Additionally, GSPA recipients will explore policy career options. Ecologists who work in federal agencies will share their career paths and how a scientific background can be applied to informing policy.
Jessica E. Griffin
Jessica Griffin is a Ph.D. candidate in marine ecology at the University of California, Davis and San Diego State University. Her research focuses on the effects of invasive species, climate change and eutrophication on species interactions in California seagrass beds. Jessica is also part of a multi-institution working group called Building Women Leadership at Field Stations and Marine Laboratories, through which she is a co-author on a book chapter about the experiences of students in field-based ecological research settings. Her research has received funding from the National Science Foundation; the CSU Council on Ocean Affairs, Science & Technology; and the University of California, Davis. Jessica plans to pursue a career in conservation and sustainable management of coastal marine ecosystems. She received her Bachelor’s degree in ecology & evolutionary biology and environmental science from the University of Connecticut.
Sophie Zhu
Sophie Zhu is a fourth-year Ph.D. candidate in the Graduate Group in Epidemiology at the University of California, Davis. She works in the Shapiro lab studying zoonotic food and waterborne protozoan pathogens, specifically Toxoplasma gondii. Zhu’s dissertation research investigates risk factors and impacts of oocyst-borne T. gondii infections in coastal California wildlife and vulnerable South American human populations. Zhu is broadly interested in the impact of anthropogenic change on infectious disease emergence and transmission. Her interest in science policy is motivated by a general desire to improve literacy and interest in science, as well as to be able to translate research into achievable, applied policies at all levels. Zhu is from Bozeman, Montana, and obtained her B.S. in animal science at Cornell University. Prior to attending graduate school, Zhu was a research technician at the Cornell University Wildlife Health Lab and the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute Global Health Program.