Phoebe Jekielek

Phoebe is a postdoctoral researcher in the Brady lab and has been working with wild and cultured sea scallop industries in Maine since 2013. Phoebe has a diverse background spanning experiential education, science communication, and applied and collaborative research in a variety of our ocean ecosystems. Current research interests include the ecological, biological, economic and social interactions of wild and aquaculture scallop populations and working with fishermen and farmers in collaborative research to support their livelihoods.

She received a BA in Biology with a specialization in Marine Science from Boston University in 2003. She lived her love for the ocean and education for 5 years as a marine science instructor, aquarist and Assistant Program Director for the Catalina Island Marine Institute in southern California. She then returned to Maine to pursue her love of science and complete her Dual Masters in Marine Science and Marine Policy at the University of Maine in 2012. Upon graduating, she was a Marine Education Associate for the Centers for Ocean Science Education Excellence – Ocean Systems (COSEE-OS) and a Research Associate for the lab of Dr. Richard Wahle, both at UMaine. During her time at UMaine, she helped to establish the Midcoast Maine Collaborative Scallop Project (MMCSP), a harvester-initiated study of effects of small-scale closures on local scallop populations. Phoebe spent 2015 – 2024 wearing many program and science hats as part of the Hurricane Island Center for Science and Leadership whose mission is to integrate science education, applied research, and leadership development through year-round educational programs and a seasonal, environmentally-sustainable island community. She recently defended her PhD where she evaluated the application of environmental DNA (eDNA) tools to monitor reproduction and recruitment processes in aquaculture and wild shellfisheries.