Student Earns National Science Foundation Fellowship for Summer Marine Biology Studies in China

MELBOURNE, FLA.—Florida Institute of Technology marine biology master of science degree candidate Nancy Pham has been selected as a National Science Foundation (NSF) Fellow for theEast Asia and Pacific Summer Institutes (EAPSI) Program. She will conduct an eight-week collaborative research project on population genetics of the longnose seahorse (Hippocampus trimaculatus).

The South China Sea Institute of Oceanology will host her this summer as she conducts research in South China.

She is currently site manager of Florida Tech’s Vero Beach Marine Laboratory and conducts research in the laboratory of Professor Junda Lin, with whom she has given several scientific platform presentations. As a research technician for a year at the university, she also has maintained outdoor algae production ponds. Pham spent three years as an aquarist associate and a conservation education professional intern at The Seas at Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.

Pham is a member of the World Aquaculture Society and the United States Aquaculture Society. She earned a bachelor’s degree in animal science and management with an emphasis in aquaculture at the University of California, Davis, in 2007 and is a 2003 graduate of Milpitas High School in Milpitas, Calif. 

The NSF East Asia and Pacific Summer Institutes for U.S. Graduate Students (EAPSI) is a flagship international fellowship program for developing the next generation of globally engaged U.S. scientists and engineers knowledgeable about the Asian and Pacific regions. The Summer Institutes are hosted by foreign counterparts committed to increasing opportunities for young U.S. researchers to work in research facilities and with host mentors abroad. Fellows are supported to participate in eight-week research experiences at host laboratories in Australia, China, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Singapore and Taiwan from June to August. The program provides a $5,000 summer stipend, round-trip airfare to the host location, living expenses abroad, and an introduction to the society, culture, language, and research environment of the host location.