Profile
Elisa Maldonado first became interested in marine biology during a fifth grade trip to SeaWorld. A junior high school summer internship at Cabrillo Marine Aquarium in San Pedro, California solidified her interest in pursuing a career in marine biology. In high school, Elisa was introduced to research through the Museum Research Apprenticeship Program (MRAP) at the Los Angeles County Natural History Museum. The program introduced participants to natural history research through lectures, field trips, and a summer research project. She conducted her summer research project in the laboratory of Gordon Hendler, Curator of Echinoderms, on the symbiosis between two brittle star species. Elisa went on to pursue a Bachelor of Science in Marine Biology from UCLA. During college, she participated in research projects in the laboratories of Richard Zimmer at UCLA and David Pawson at the Smithsonian Natural History Museum. Elisa recently obtained her Ph.D. from Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego, where she was an NSF Graduate Research and Ford Foundation Dissertation fellow. Her dissertation research focused on the effects of small-scale turbulence on grazing, growth, and swimming of sea urchin larvae. Elisa accepted a National Science Foundation Minority Postdoctoral Research Fellowship and is currently working in the bio-inspired engineering laboratory of Joanna Aizenberg in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at Harvard University. Her postdoctoral work will focus on adhesion of bacteria and other biofouling organisms on microstructured surfaces under conditions of fluid motion.
