Annie Deck

I am from Austin, Texas and I completed my undergraduate degree in environmental science and sustainability at Texas Christian University. Here I took part in undergraduate research and worked on a variety of projects studying how anthropogenic activity was impacting local bat populations. Logging hundreds of hours during these years in the lab I gained an interest for the scientific research process and developed both hands on and professional skills. During my junior year at TCU I had the opportunity to conduct research and study marine ecology in Panama and Costa Rica which was when I fell in love with marine science and knew I wanted to pursue this in my career moving forward. More specifically, my area of interest in the marine science field is microbiology and bioinformatics. I am currently beginning my Master of Science program at Hawaii Pacific University in marine science. During this program I will complete my thesis, which is the project I have outlined to be funded, and I plan for this to be my first scientific publication. With my prior experiences, course work, and guidance under my advisor Dr. Olivia Nigro, I feel equipped to carry out this project successfully. Following the completion of my master’s program I plan to continue my academic career by pursuing a PhD in the marine science field. I hope this will give me the skill set necessary to pursue a career as a professor and researcher at a major university. I am passionate about scientific research and I hope through my career in this field I am better able to contribute to and inform conservation efforts of our vital marine ecosystems.

October 2021