Team

John has been fascinated by the ocean and captivated by sharks for as long as he can remember. He learned to scuba dive in high school, and for his senior capstone project he gave a presentation to his community about shark conservation. After attaining a Bachelor’s degree in environmental science from Western Washington University, John began his formal career in marine biology as a Master’s student at San Francisco State University, where his research was the first to describe the morphological and molecular development of the manta ray body plan. He then completed a PhD in evolutionary biology at the University of Massachusetts, where his research offered new insights into the population connectivity and dynamics of lemon sharks, cownose rays and eagle rays. These days, John is thrilled to be conducting his post-doctoral research as a member of the Shark Research Center at the Guy Harvey Research Institute, where his broad training in genomics, bio-informatics and population dynamics modelling is being applied to critical research questions that can help inform and improve the conservation management of vulnerable elasmobranch species. Although the projects he leads tend to focus on elasmobranchs (his favourite animals), John is highly collaborative and has co-authored publications about various taxa, including cichlids, trout, snails, bonefish, turtles and plants. Besides his research (which he loves), John enjoys spending time with his family, practising yoga, smiling and playing in nature.