Faculty & Staff
Our team has more than 40 years of combined experience researching, working with, and handling sharks, has logged thousands of hours on and in the water, has decades of teaching experience, and currently possesses five and three-quarters graduate degrees. Our work has taken us to five continents. As a group, we can eat about six pounds of nachos in one sitting, but will really regret it later. Our true passion is the work we do with our students - sharing our love of the ocean, and our knowledge of ecology, conservation, and field science.
Dr. Catherine Macdonald, Director
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Catherine received her PhD from the Abess Center for Ecosystem Science and Policy at the University of Miami. Her research interests include the biology and ecology of sharks and rays, human-wildlife conflict, and the impacts of wildlife tourism. We recommend you don’t ask her questions about any of those topics unless you’ve got time to spare. From 2011-2016, she was the Intern Coordinator for the University of Miami's Shark Research and Conservation Program, where she discovered teaching and mentoring was the work she loved most. In addition to teaching at Field School, Catherine is also a Lecturer at the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School for Marine and Atmospheric Science, where she is the head of the Marine Conservation Track for the Master of Professional Science program.
Dr. Julia Wester, Director of Program Development
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Julia received her PhD from the Abess Center for Ecosystem Science and Policy at the University of Miami in 2016. She studies the psychology of decision-making about the environment, and the role of social norms and emotion in environmental decisions and policies. She’s pretty psyched to be a social scientist who gets to spend most of her time on a boat. She received a Msc with Distinction in Biodiversity Conservation and Management from Oxford University and worked as a Legislative Aide focusing on South Florida environmental policy before going back to school for her PhD. She is a professor at the Abess Center at the University of Miami, where she teaches environmental policy.
Christian Pankow earned his B.S. in Marine Biology from Eckerd College and is completing his M.A. at Coastal Carolina University in Coastal Marine and Wetland Studies. He served as staff at the Bimini Biological Field Station ("Sharklab") from 2005-2008, and as lab manager of the Shark Research and Conservation Program at the University of Miami from 2013-2016. He has more than fifteen years of experience handling sharks, and is a US Coast Guard certified boat captain and a complete MacGyver at fixing and building research equipment. He also regularly wears board shorts printed with kittens to work. His current research focuses on the feeding ecology and seasonal distribution of estuarine sharks in South Carolina.
Nick Perni, Head of Marine Operations
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Nick is a graduate of University of Miami’s undergraduate marine science program. As a student, he was an intern with the Shark Research and Conservation Program, where he learned that he didn’t necessarily want to get a graduate degree, but he did want to keep learning about sharks and spend his life on the water. He has gone on to become a US Coast Guard certified boat captain, and the only person to give a proud and thorough tour of Garvin’s engine room after a full day of operation, when the temperature near the engines can top 130 degrees. He is a skilled shark handler, knowledgeable naturalist, and an incredible resource for students interested in marine and vessel operations.
Jake Jerome, Assistant Director of Program Development and Intern Coordinator
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Jake received his Master’s degree from the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science at the University of Miami in 2016. His MS research focused on the physiological and reflex impairments that sharks experience in response to fishing. During his time at the University of Miami, Jake was a student leader in the Shark Research and Conservation program, where he led tagging trips and outreach programming. As an undergraduate in Illinois, Jake worked with university faculty on projects including Asian carp hybridization and geographic information systems (GIS) watershed projects. Jake is an experienced scuba diver and dive operations planner, a GIS wizard, and by far the hippest member of Field School (there’s not a lot of competition).
Chris Will, Research Assistant
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Chris received his Master's degree from the Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science in 2022 under Dr. Catherine Macdonald. His MS research focused on the physiological changes nurse sharks experience in response to catch and release recreational angling. During his graduate degree, Chris found himself particularly interested in the behind-the-scenes maintenance work that keeps Garvin running throughout the year and began training under Christian and Nick to pursue his captains license. Chris has gone on to become our most recent US Coast Guard certified boat captain, is an experienced AAUS scientific diver, and manages our acoustic receiver array around the coast of Miami.