research

Above: Jamie walked visitors through a mock sea turtle necropsy (autopsy) using a stuffed turtle stitched by our advisor, Dr. Matt Ramirez, at the CMS Open House in Fall 2024.

​Below: Jamie showcasing various species of sea turtle skulls at the CMS Open House in 2023.
Above: Jamie was ecstatic to join the NOAA Ship Pisces for a Southeast Fishery Independent Survey in 2022 to assess reef fish abundance and acquire biological tissues for stock assessment (2022).
Above: Jamie participated in NOAA Fisheries' leatherback sea turtle captures and satellite tagging for two years. During 2019, we deployed a record number of satellite tags (2019).
Read the full story HERE.
Above: Jamie shows off the wet lab where conch, chitons, and scallops were held for our invertebrate visual ecology lab (2017). 
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Below: Admire the conch's camera-type eyes that can regenerate relatively QUICKLY! 
Above: Jamie's dream of meeting 'Alvin' the underwater submersible, came true! On their way up to Maine, they stopped by WHOI to visit (2016). 
Above: Jamie presents her Hollings research at the end-of-the-summer symposium in Silver Spring, MD (2016). 
Above: Jamie shows off a 10-foot boa constrictor while educating visitors at the National Aquarium in Baltimore (2015).
Above: Jamie and one of her best friends, Karlee Liddy, geared up in our PPE to conduct liquid chromatography in the Ziolkowski Lab (2014). 
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Dr. Matthew Ramirez’s Lab at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington
Ph.D. Researcher / Biology and Marine Biology Teaching Assistant
August 2023 – present
  • Conducting collaborative research with NOAA Fisheries (with Dr. Larisa Avens, SEFSC, and Dr. Cali Turner, SWFSC) to develop and validate novel aging approaches using NIRS (Near-InfraRed Spectroscopy) and DNAm (DNA Methylation or epigenetics) for aging LIVE sea turtles.
  • Training and mentoring ~8 undergraduate researchers in the histological processing sea turtle humerus bones for age estimation (skeletochronology)
    • At the CMS Open House Jamie educated visitors about sea turtle jaw shape and how we can predict what a turtle eats based on the shape and structure of the jaw. Jamie helped lead the Ramirez Lab table at UNCW's Center for Marine Science's Open House in both 2023 and 2024. She educated the public about age estimation in dolphins, sea turtles, fish, and trees!

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CIMAS (Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies), University of Miami
NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service Beaufort, NC Laboratory  
Senior Research Associate II, Fish Biology and Life History Group, FATES Division
January 2020 - August 2023
  • Accomplished in the processing and aging of fish otoliths, using the Isomet and Hillquist, as well as newer technologies (FT-NIRS), to analyze size-at-age structures of commercially important reef fish for SEDAR stock assessments and population management strategies (e.g., red porgy, scamp, gray snapper, vermilion snapper, and white grunt).
  • Contributed age data for the 2022 Gray Snapper SEDAR Assessment
  • Assisted scientists with onboard equipment preparation, data management, and biological sampling and processing on 4 NMFS Southeast Fishery Independent Surveys (2021, 2022 [2], and 2024).
    • Skilled in chevron trap deployment, video configuration and deployment, fish identification, dissection, otolith retrieval, and gonad sampling of any sized reef fish (e.g., snappers, groupers, porgies, grunts, etc.).
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Riverside Technology, Inc. 
NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service Beaufort, NC Laboratory  
Fisheries Biologist II, Sea Turtle Team
July 2018 – December 2019
  • Advanced my skills within skeletochronological analyses within the lab (histological processes to decalcify, section, and stain sea turtle humerus bones for age estimation) and sampling methods within the field (pound nets, acoustic array maintenance, and entangle seine nets).
  • All work was permitted research. NMFS ESA Permit 21233, issued to NMFS SEFSC.
  • Highly skilled in dissection and necropsy techniques: dissected about 1,000 extremely decomposed sea turtle flippers and other marine fauna samples over 6 months after Hurricane Florence (2018) failed a walk-in freezer for biological sample storage.
  • Received the 2019 SEFSC Team Member of the Year award for this work.


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Dr. Daniel Speiser’s Lab at the University of South Carolina
Accelerated Master’s Student/ Marine Science Teaching Assistant
August 2015- July 2018
  • Studied the restoration of visual performance during eye regeneration in the Florida fighting conch (Strombus alatus) by running behavioral experiments, morphological studies, and molecular approaches (IHC).
  • Oversaw animal husbandry for a variety of marine invertebrates, including chitons, anemones, conch, crabs, urchins, and sea stars, all used for education outreach and graduate research.
  • Jamie took care of 24 Florida fighting conch throughout her master’s degree. She used nail polish to write unique numbers on each of the shells to keep track of them. They LOVED to eat algae with their long proboscis.


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OceansWide (Marine Education Non-Profit) in Schoodic, Maine
Maine-mester Coordinator and Participant
May 2016 & 2017
  • Coordinated, developed, and advertised a 3-week field-intensive Maymester course for OceansWide in alliance with the University of South Carolina for two years.
    • Jamie worked with Buzz Scott (director and founder of OceansWide) to create field experiences for USC undergraduate students since a ‘field experience’ was required to graduate with a Marine Science B.S. degree.
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Ernest F. Hollings Scholar
NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service Beaufort, NC Laboratory  
Ernest F. Hollings Intern, 2016
2015 - 2017
  • Learned skeletochronology techniques to characterize hawksbill sea turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) size-at-age relationships and growth dynamics (co-authored Avens et al. [2021]).
    • Now at UNCW, Jamie is a Hollings Scholar Advisor through CSURF for undergraduate students who are applying.
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National Aquarium in Baltimore        
Intern in the Animal Programs Department
May - August 2014 & 2015
  • Learned and applied positive reinforcement training on a variety of bird and reptile education outreach animals.
  • Gained public speaking and animal presentation experience when conducting daily animal encounters at the NAIB (animals included: a black-headed python, a yellow-footed tortoise, a shingle back skink, bearded dragons, Hyacinth macaw, etc.)
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​Dr. Lori Ziolkowski’s Lab University of South Carolina                           
Research Assistant
January 2014 – May 2015
  • Assembled a brand-new lab and then calibrated equipment and protocols by running liquid chromatographs of known-length alkane chains.


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