Please note: Morrison Planetarium will be closed for maintenance Sept. 16–18.
Search for Academy curators, collections managers, and research staff working to answer some of the world's most pressing scientific questions.
Research Scientist, Invertebrate Zoology and Geology
I am an evolutionary biologist with research interests in the ecology, evolution, and conservation of marine ecosystems. I have used genetics to address a wide range of topics in the ocean, from sea cucumber fisheries in Fiji, to coral bleaching in American Samoa, to how mutations accumulate in coral colonies. Currently, I combine genomics with aquarium husbandry for important marine animals like corals and sea stars, in order to inform best practices for conservation breeding programs worldwide.
Post-Doctoral Researcher
Chancey MacDonald is a post-doctoral researcher at the California Academy of Sciences, where he is a co-investigator of how depth interacts with the assembly drivers, functional structure, and ecology of global reef fish assemblages, as well as global stressors on mesophotic coral ecosystems. Chancey completed his PhD at James Cook University in Australia, where he investigated how depth influences a broad range of ecological relationships among coral-associated reef fishes.
Collection Manager, Botany
My time in the Botany department at the Cal Academy spans my graduate and curatorial assistant work from 2005-2011 and my return in 2018 to present. I studied the taxonomy of Paleotropical Mendoncia (Acanthaceae) for my MS degree and was lucky enough to travel to Madagascar twice. Now, I manage the collection and look forward to the challenging yet fulfilling work ahead with our great team.
Chair and Curator of Aquatic Biology, Emeritus
My research focus has combined field and laboratory studies of aquatic animal evolution and behavior, ranging from microscopic bioluminescent bacteria to macroscopic man-eating elasmobranchs.
Graduate Student Researcher, Entomology
Kate Montana is a graduate student researcher in the arachnology lab at the California Academy of Sciences. She is advised by Dr. Lauren Esposito and is working toward her master's degree in integrative biology at San Francisco State University. Her research utilizes morphological and molecular data to revise the evolutionary relationships between genera in a family of small brown spiders, Dictynidae.
Curator of Invertebrate Zoology and Geology
Echinoid systematics and evolution
When I was about 8 years old, I sat at the kitchen table and used a blue ballpoint pen to draw the "blueprints" for the research vessel I would be using when I became a marine biologist. Things don't always go the way you plan--even when you start early. But I can say that my life as a field biologist and phylogeneticist of marine organisms has never wavered from the exciting endeavor represented by those childhood sketches.
Research Collections Registrar
Lindsay works in support of the research division. She enjoys condition reporting and environmental management. Lindsay received her Master of Arts in Museum Studies from San Francisco State University.
Marine Mammal Stranding Coordinator
As a lifelong coastside dweller, my love for my ocean neighbors brought me to marine mammal rescue for 18+ years. It was only natural for me to expand my experience with them by volunteering to prepare their skulls for the research collection in O&M, beginning in 2008. I soon included field response – examining dead marine mammals – to my responsibilities, and in 2011, I became an employee. Every animal has a story, bearing witness to the rapidly changing ocean conditions, and our examinations tell that story.