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Fish Sister Profile: Dr. Alexandra Norelli, early career fisheries modeler, and enthusiastic Women of Fisheries supporter

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Alex fishing in High School around her hometown of Darien, CT. 
Alex pictured with a tuna skeleton at the Oxford Museum of Natural History, this is her only photo with a tuna despite researching them for 7 years.  
Alex in a selfie with a statue of Mary Anning, famous English Paleontologist..  The Women of Fisheries book club reading of “Remarkable Creatures” inspired her to make the journey to Lyme Regis U.K.
Alex pointing to England on the globe after graduating from her PhD program.

For this month’s Fish Sister profile, we would like to highlight Dr. Alexandra Norelli, Postdoctoral Associate at University of Miami’s Cooperative Institute of Marine and Atmospheric Studies (CIMAS). Alex is a marine scientist and programmer committed to developing better stock assessment processes. Her PhD focused on agent-based modeling in Tropical Tunas, and she has been the section lead or contributed to several International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) data preparatory or stock assessment technical reports. Currently, she is working on testing the bias introduced by episodic mortality events like red tide in grouper stock assessments.

Alex has also been an active member of the Women of Fisheries Outreach Committee since 2021, including serving as co-chair. She has authored or contributed to several blog posts over the years including: Presentation Tips and Tricks, Women in Science Sightings around Oxford, Interviewing Principal Investigators as a Prospective Grad Student, Best Undergraduate Courses for Fisheries Scientists: Part 1, Part 2, Making a Not-To-Do List, Fishing for Firsts – Women Pioneers in Fisheries Observing, 6 Awesome Women’s Groups to Keep an Eye on. Thank you, Alex, for all of your contributions to the Women of Fisheries group!

Check out more information on Dr. Alex Norelli’s research and experiences below.

We would love to feature and amplify your experiences in a Fish Sister Profile! Please fill out our Women of Fisheries Profile form to be featured in a future blog post!

CURRENT POSITION(S):

Postdoctoral Associate at University of Miami’s Cooperative Institute of Marine and Atmospheric Studies (CIMAS)

GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF YOUR WORK/RESEARCH:

I am a programmer that specializes in ecological modeling. At CIMAS, I am testing the bias introduced by episodic mortality events like red tide in grouper stock assessments using the Stock Synthesis Management Strategy Evaluation project (SSMSE). My PhD was focused on Tropical Tuna and agent-based modeling, so I also contribute to the POSEIDON project, which is an agent-based model of fisher behavior with applications in the Pacific and Atlantic ocean tropical tuna fisheries.

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN IN FISHERIES?

10 years

HOW DID YOU GET INTO THE FIELD?

I got into marine biology because I loved going to the beach as a kid and identifying everything in the tidal zone. When I was in high school I went to Camp Fuller in Rhode Island and became the marine biology counselor who took campers out on a pontoon boat and taught them all about Point Judith Pond. In my last year of undergraduate schooling at University of South Carolina, I shifted my focus heavily toward fisheries because I realized I liked programming more than field work and there were a lot of federal opportunities in stock assessment. I had a gap year after undergrad where I taught myself how to program, then I completed my MPS and PhD at University of Miami. Since then I’ve been jumping from postdoc to postdoc.

WHO HAS BEEN YOUR FAVORITE MENTOR OR ROLE MODEL?

My mentor at University of Oxford was Nicolas Payette. He taught me more about coding than my entire PhD and did it with the kindest, most chill demeanor possible. He never made me feel bad for not knowing something and made sure I fully understood a concept before moving on, for once I wasn’t stuck learning everything on my own.

WHO HAD THE GREATEST INFLUENCE ON YOU?

In my Marine Science 101 class in college, I was one of the top 2 scorers on our first exam. Claudia Benitez-Nelson pulled us aside, said she would be our advisor from then on and immediately hooked us up with lab positions on campus. She deeply cared for me as an advisor, we met regularly and she taught me how to plan ahead for my career and explore all of the marine science tracks. I still remember she really wanted me to end up in chemical oceanography like her but I was determined to be in fisheries. By the end of undergrad, I was extremely well-rounded science-wise and ahead of the curve in math and programming, which leant itself to ecology and interdisciplinary research.

WHAT WAS THE BEST ADVICE YOU’VE GOTTEN?

“A good PhD is a done PhD” was the mantra that helped me finish my PhD on time. I’ve appreciated any advice along the lines of “Finished, not perfect.” I’m a bit of a perfectionist, in fact I’ve almost submitted this fish sister profile every year for the past 4 years, but it never felt right. I’ve had so many reasons to delay it: I wasn’t far enough in my career, I still haven’t published much of anything, I could use it for promoting myself at the right moment, etc. All of these reasons are so superficial and I should have just submitted it perfect or not!

DO YOU HAVE ANY ADVICE FOR NEW WOMEN ENTERING THE FIELD?

Make sure you have a strong support system and seek out all therapy resources available to you through work or school. It helps to have friends and family that believe in you and want you to succeed. Then, have outside help like a therapist to give you unbiased support during the hard times. Science careers are full of rejection and changes, stability is hard to come by and you will need all the support you can get.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE THING ABOUT WORKING IN FISHERIES?

I enjoy public service and feel like my work is actually contributing to the betterment of society. By improving fisheries models, I’m saving scientists and manager’s time and making sure that we have plenty of seafood in the future.

WHAT WAS THE COOLEST EXPERIENCE YOU’VE HAD WHILE WORKING IN FISHERIES?

I think my year at the University of Oxford for my first post-doc out of my PhD will go down as one of the best years of my life. My fiancé (now husband!) and I moved to Oxford in August, I got to go to an agent-based modeling course in Italy in September, and we traveled all over the UK and parts of Europe throughout the year. I met so many amazing researchers at Oxford and thoroughly enjoyed weekly pub nights. Oxford is not a fisheries school so I really stood out and had a lot of fun discussing my research with people outside of our field. The research was also a perfect continuation of my PhD work that made me feel like my PhD work was valuable.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FISH?

Longfin Squid aka Loligo

IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE YOU WANT TO SHARE?

Women of Fisheries has been a great support system for me! I love this group and really appreciate all of the advice I’ve gotten from this community over the years!