Adriane Michaelis, a faculty research assistant at the Paynter Oyster Research lab at University of Maryland, is getting paid for doing what she loves: SCUBA diving! But her job isn’t just, “getting paid to do what many people pay a good bit to do.” She’s doing some very important work to help protect the oysters in the Chesapeake Bay and beyond.

Adriane spends time in the field and in the lab conducting tests that monitor the status of oyster restoration sites and research projects. In the field, she often meets with local watermen and scientists to collect samples and gather data. Sometimes she collects samples or monitors the the oyster reef research sites that University of Maryland is studying by SCUBA diving in the dark waters of the Bay. Adriane’s responsibilities also include managing the day-to-day operations of the Paynter Oyster Research Lab at the University of Maryland, College Park.

Adriane earned a Bachelor of Science in Anthropology-Zoology from University of Michigan and a Master of Science in Marine Biology from University of North Carolina at Wilmington. Her studies have taken her through some different scientific disciplines, but Adriane remained focused on conservation. She uses her science education to solve different environmental problems and “to identify what can be done to protect and restore a species, a community, or an entire ecosystem.”

For Adriane, studying science is a way to satisfy her natural curiosity about the world and feed her passion for preserving the planet. For students considering a career in biology research she believes the best thing you can do is volunteer your time in research labs, aquariums, or with professors and scientists to gain as much experience as possible and find your passion. Eventually, you will be able to take something you’re passionate about and make a career out of it.

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