文/ Tiffany Whitfield
Jem Baldisimo正在攻读博士学位.D. in Ecological Sciences at 最靠谱的网赌软件 and is a Fulbright Scholar and a Virginia Sea Grant 研究生 学生的研究 Fellow. 最近，她被授予 美国生态学会的2024年Katherine S. 麦卡特研究生政策奖(GSPA). 因为Baldisimo的倡导工作以及她对科学政策的兴趣, 她和其他获奖者将前往华盛顿, D.C.，以促进他们在政策、传播和职业培训方面的科学事业. She takes being a woman of color in science very seriously and believes her Filipino heritage and her mentors helped shaped who she is today.
Baldisimo是今年12位获奖者之一. 她是ODU学生中第二位获得GSPA奖的学生. 此外, she will be using all of the skills and advocacy experience that she’s gained over the last decade to be able to contribute to meetings with lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
原产于菲律宾, Baldisimo knows the importance of marine sustainability and preserving it for generations. “The Philippines is the center of marine shore fish biodiversity in the world and our word for marine resources is yamang-dagat, 这意味着海洋的财富, so my Filipino heritage really inspired me to protect what we have because if we don’t protect our own resources who else will,巴尔迪西莫说. “在我职业生涯的最初阶段, 当我大学毕业的时候，我做的很多工作都是在菲律宾.”
在她的家乡, she became a part of a national assessment of coral reef environments allowing her the opportunity to travel to 78 municipalities around the Philippines. “如果你能想象有7个,菲律宾有641个岛屿，我们只能去其中的一小部分, 但是在这个机会中, I was able to travel about the Philippines in the most remote areas with military escorts,巴尔迪西莫说. “So, I took it upon myself to find a lot of opportunities to not only help my country but others who rely on the ocean for livelihood and for food security.”
Her research focus is on the extinction risk of fishes in the marine aquarium trade and it has taken her to several continents. Baldisimo’s Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Science is from the Ateneo de Manila in the Philippines. She earned her Master of Environment degree from the University of Melbourne in Australia. 作为一名环境科学家, she was able to work with mining and power companies for environmental monitoring and compliance projects. 也, I did research in China for a class during my master’s where we talked to communities along the Yangtze River to help the local government devise ways to promote water conservation,巴尔迪西莫说. “从事科学工作真的帮助我利用了我的背景, 做研究, 和旅行，”巴尔迪西莫说.
因为她的旅行，她遇到了ODU的生物科学教授 & 著名学者肯特·卡彭特博士.D. at a conference in Hawaii that spurred her to seriously consider ODU for her doctoral program. “Dr. 肯特·卡朋特在菲律宾做了很多工作, and I wanted to study at an institution that had a lot of research that was not only in the field of marine science but also in my home country in the Philippines,巴尔迪西莫说. “幸运的是，我获得了奖学金，去了ODU，并与Dr. 卡朋特通过富布赖特基金.”
卡彭特从事分子系统学和群体遗传学的研究. “He is an ichthyologist but at the same time he also heads the 国际 Union for the Conservation of Nature Marine Biodiversity Unit at 最靠谱的网赌软件,巴尔迪西莫说. “我们为世界自然保护联盟管理大部分海洋红色名录的评估, which is the world’s authority for assessing the conservation status of all multicellular plants, 动物和真菌, 我们现在关注的是海洋鱼类的灭绝风险评估.”
Baldisimo’s current research at ODU on the extinction risk of fishes in the marine ornamental trade, 也被称为海洋水族贸易, has been heavily influenced by the fishermen she met during a nationwide survey of coral reef livelihoods that she was part of. The long-term sustainability of the MAT is been questionable because of the high volume of fishes traded between countries like the Philippines and the United States. MAT对鱼类种群的直接影响的研究甚至更少. Baldisimo will investigate how MAT fish populations in the Philippines have been affected by more than a hundred years of human impacts and determine a list of species to be prioritized for research and conservation. Baldisimo希望她的研究可以为研究人员提供有用的信息, 资源管理器, 政策制定者对MAT的可持续性进行调查和研究.
据卡彭特说，巴尔迪西莫一直是一名坚定的博士生. “Jem has been a key collaborator in my NSF-funded Philippines 合作伙伴关系 for 国际 研究 and Education (PIRE) Project. 她过去的经验使她能够为我们在菲律宾的实地工作做出贡献, 包括水肺潜水, 鱼识别, 市场及登陆调查, 并与当地社区和渔民保持联系. She has supported the PIRE Project’s 6-week 研究 Experience for 本科s (REU) Program in the Philippines by being a mentor and resource in getting to know Filipino culture and Visayan language.”
另外, she is heavily involved in advocating for the success and quality of life of international students, 促进女性参与STEM并改善多样性, 公平与包容. 在ODU期间，她一直致力于使科学更具包容性. Baldisimo received the 2020 Monarch Citizen of the Year award and was named the 2022 Ellen Neufeldt 研究生 Student Leader of the Year at the 学生参与 and Enrollment 服务s 领导 Awards at ODU.
“我非常激动地欢迎最新一批研究生政策奖获得者,欧空局主席沙希德·纳伊姆说. 今年获奖者的水准, 自从我们的项目开始以来，获奖者都是如此, 反映了生态研究和政策倡导的良好前景. These exceptional students exemplify the Society's commitment to nurturing innovative minds dedicated to addressing our most pressing scientific and environmental challenges."
对于Baldisimo来说，ODU帮助她在学术、专业和个人方面发展. “我真的很感谢给予我的机会, not only because I’m a woman of science but as just a student in the 理学院. 我有很多机会得到指导，不仅仅是我的上司, 但也有来自教师和学院的. Throughout the six years I’ve been here I’ve really been able to support myself and to get a lot of resources that were extended to me by the college and for that I’m really very thankful. 真正的, choosing ODU was one of the best choices that I’ve made because it was a pleasant surprise that there was a community here that could really support me every step of the way.”