What is a fisheries technician and how to become one

In my experience, keeping an open mind and being confident was crucial to my success. When I was a third-year undergraduate, my mind was made up that I would be a medical doctor. But, I discovered a passion for microbiology research and realized that this could dovetail nicely with my desire to be in health professions. I secured a research position in a clinical lab working with gonorrhea. However, after a few months the PI abruptly informed me that he was retiring. I was directed to another lab that focused on gut microbial ecology of herbivorous fishes. This hardly sounded appealing, but it was my only option for microbiology research at my institution so I begrudgingly joined that lab.

I focused my efforts on developing molecular tools to study fish gut microbes at a time when PCR was a brand new tool and commercial DNA extraction kits didn't exist. The first time I looked at a fluorescence-stained specimen of gut contents under the microscope and saw a constellation of microbial shapes, sizes, and arrangements, I was hooked. My other passion is physical activity, especially water sports like swimming and surfing. I somehow managed to stumble on a field of microbiology that allowed me to spend some days in the lab, and others on a research vessel, free-diving off the coast to collect fish for my research. Aside from nurturing two of my passions, I never imagined that I was on the forefront of one of the greatest scientific revolutions of all time: the explosion of interest in gut microbial consortia and development of the molecular tools to study them!

This research opened my eyes to the importance of "good bacteria" and their role in the health of their animal and plant hosts. After completing a master's in the field of fish gut microbiology, for my Ph.D. research, I moved on to the "simpler" binary association between the marine bacterium Vibrio fischeri and the squid Euprymna scolopes. Listening in on the conversation between V. fischeri and the squid was much easier than the cacophony of the fish gut association. I quickly learned that this was an elegant system for understanding the role of beneficial bacteria in host development and ecology. However, my ability to be open-minded was challenged yet again when my advisor abruptly announced that we were moving from LA to Honolulu. I thought my life was perfect in LA, so I didn't want to leave.

I weighed options of joining a new lab, but there were no other beneficial microbe-host interactions labs to smoothly transition to. Once again, I was pulled out of my comfort zone to a completely new life that I did not ask for. Once I stopped digging in my heels and accepted the way things were, Hawaii became home and provided some of the happiest memories of my life. Taking chances, embracing what life throws at you, and having the confidence to make the most of whatever situation you're in are perhaps the most valuable pearls of wisdom I can bestow on students that seek my advice.