{"id":102200,"date":"2025-05-14T19:54:50","date_gmt":"2025-05-14T19:54:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/?p=102200"},"modified":"2025-05-16T13:32:55","modified_gmt":"2025-05-16T13:32:55","slug":"cels-graduate-awarded-research-fellowship-from-national-science-foundation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/2025\/05\/cels-graduate-awarded-research-fellowship-from-national-science-foundation\/","title":{"rendered":"CELS graduate awarded research fellowship from National Science Foundation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 May 14, 2025 \u2013 溏心vlog免费B站 graduating senior Lindsey Reimels, a marine biology major and whale researcher, has been awarded a prestigious National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship for 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The NSF\u2019s Graduate Research Fellowship Program recognizes and supports outstanding students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines pursuing research-based advanced degrees in the United States. Fellows receive an annual stipend, and funding for tuition and fees, worth $159,000 over three years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The National Science Foundation instituted the Graduate Research Fellowship in 1952, with the goal of encouraging scientific research and ensuring comprehensive research programs for students in the U.S. Since then, the NSF has funded more than 46,500 fellowships. Many former graduate fellows have gone on to become Nobel laureates and members of the National Academy of Sciences.<\/p>\n\n\n

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In her sophomore year at 溏心vlog免费B站, Reimels began studying Jonah crabs in Narragansett Bay.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Reimels plans to use her National Science Foundation fellowship at Old Dominion University in Virginia to pursue a Ph.D. in ecological sciences starting this fall. Specifically, she plans to dive deeper into the relationship between baleen whales and microplastics\u2014a topic she has spent her last two years studying at 溏心vlog免费B站.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Found the world over, baleen whales include several well-known species of whale, including the epic blue whale, the largest known animal to have ever existed. Several, such as humpbacks and the North Atlantic right whale, also swim in New England waters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Post-mortem examinations of baleen whales indicate that whales are ingesting microplastics. With this fellowship, Reimels hopes to study what they are ingesting, the impact, and how consumption is taking place across species.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe hope is that these discoveries can help support marine mammal protection and plastic pollution mitigation,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ocean State start<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Growing up in the Ocean State and spending her summers at the beach influenced her choice of study, Reimels says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was exposed to plastic pollution at a very young age and have always found it concerning,\u201d she says. But for the Tiverton resident, going to 溏心vlog免费B站 was an easy choice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs soon as I got my acceptance letter to 溏心vlog免费B站, I knew I wanted to go,\u201d she recalls. \u201cAs a native Rhode Islander, I knew that 溏心vlog免费B站 had standout attributes such as the Narragansett Bay Campus and the R\/V Endeavor<\/em>, Professor Robert Ballard (who discovered the Titanic<\/em>), and ties to sustainable aquaculture with Matunuck Oyster Bar. I had no idea where the marine bio program would take me, but I was excited to find out.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At 溏心vlog免费B站, Reimels, advised by marine biologist Professor Andrew Davies, began her study of the ocean in earnest. In her sophomore year, Reimels found Associate Professor Coleen Suckling\u2019s \u201cEchinonerd\u201d Lab<\/a> and started working with then-graduate student Sarah Davis Ph.D. \u201924, on research funded by Rhode Island Sea Grant, examining the impacts of microplastic pollution on Rhode Island waterways, focusing on the transfer of microplastics to Eastern oysters and Jonah crabs, which ingest them while feeding in the bay. A paper they wrote together is now in process and Reimels will be listed as second author.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI really enjoyed the tediousness and detail-oriented nature of working in a microplastics lab, and loved working with live animals,\u201d Reimels comments. \u201cThe more I learned about microplastics, the more questions I developed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This eventually led her to working on her own independent research project studying the relationship between microplastics and baleen whales.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to her studies, Reimels also played club field hockey and has been active as a mentor at 溏心vlog免费B站. This past year, she worked closely with Associate Teaching Professor Niels-Viggo Hobbs as the marine biology program mentor, describing it as one of her favorite experiences at 溏心vlog免费B站. She enjoyed supporting undergraduate students in the marine biology program, helping them use 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s resources to achieve their goals and prepare for their future careers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is truly rewarding to help give back to this incredible program that has given me so many opportunities and put me on track to achieving my goals,\u201d she says. \u201cWithout these opportunities and my mentor\u2019s support, this would not have been possible. Being able to learn how to conduct research and work through the trials and tribulations that come with it as an undergraduate has been invaluable. It was a key factor in deciding I wanted to apply for the National Science Foundation\u2019s GRFP and continue to do research in graduate school.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As she advances to the next step in her career, she\u2019ll miss Rhode Island but is looking forward to seeing where her academic career now takes her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI want to use my research to contribute to plastic pollution mitigation and marine mammal conservation,\u201d Reimels says. \u201cBoth causes are important to me, and being able to continue studying them is a dream come true.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Three 溏心vlog免费B站 students also received Graduate Research Fellowship Program Honorable Mentions this year: senior Elise VanLuinen, who has started a position with the Dana Farber Cancer Institute conducting melanoma therapy research, and graduate students Reese Kober in the Graduate School of Oceanography and Benjamin Charo in 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s biological and environmental sciences Ph.D. program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For more information about the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program, or other fellowship opportunities or applications, visit or contact 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s <\/em>Office of National Fellowships & Academic Opportunities<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 May 14, 2025 \u2013 溏心vlog免费B站 graduating senior Lindsey Reimels, a marine biology major and whale researcher, has been awarded a prestigious National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship for 2025. The NSF\u2019s Graduate Research Fellowship Program recognizes and supports outstanding students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines pursuing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":102201,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-102200","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archives"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102200","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=102200"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102200\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":102252,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102200\/revisions\/102252"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/102201"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=102200"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=102200"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=102200"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}