Alison Deary

Alison joined the Service and Abernathy Fish Technology Center as the Center Director in March of 2023. Prior to working at Abernathy FTC, Alison worked for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Alaska Fisheries Science Center, as their Ichthyoplankton Team Lead where she facilitated taxonomic and ecological research on the early stages of marine fishes from all of the marine ecosystems of Alaska and the inclusion of these data into ecosystem products used in the sustainable management of exploited species.

In total, she has spent over 345 days at sea on large oceanographic vessels as well as smaller vessels in estuaries and rivers. Alison enjoys hiking, kayaking, paddle boarding, finding chanterelles, and slowly strolling with her senior corgi, Sookie.

PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND

• BS in Marine Biology from the College of Charleston in Charleston, SC, with minors in Chemistry and Geology.
• PhD with Dr. Eric Hilton at the College of William and Mary, Virginia Institute of Marine Science, looking at niche partitioning and how it related to jaw and sensory development in larval and juvenile estuarine fishes.
• Postdoctoral research with Dr. Frank Hernandez at the University of Southern Mississippi as part of a larger consortium of researchers to understand the potential impacts of oil spills on coastal plankton communities in the Mississippi Bight.