Degrees
Ph.D., Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, UC Irvine, Expected 2022
M.S., Marine Biology, California State University Long Beach, 2018
B.S., Biology, University of Nebraska Omaha, 2013
Research
Marine intertidal species metabolic response to climate change
Biography
Racine hails from the great corn state of Nebraska, where she completed her degree in biology at the University of Nebraska. She then moved to the ocean where she completed her Master’s degree in Marine Biology at California State University Long Beach where she studied the physiology of local Southern California fishes. Now at UC Irvine, Racine is a Ph.D. student in Dr. Cascade Sorte’s global climate change lab. She studies how climate change is affecting the physiology of intertidal species such as non-moving mussels or rambunctious hermit crabs ranging from the chilly waters of Alaska to the sunny coastline of Southern California. If she’s not in the lab crunching data you can find her in between the tides counting snails!
Why is science communication important to you personally?
You know that saying, “It’s like it’s trying to talk to me...I just know it!”? Sometimes that’s how I feel when I am reading about some convoluted scientific definition or trying to understand a strange looking math equation. Being overwhelmed with all the information being thrown at me then tends to make me sweaty and anxious. But when I can easily understand the amazing scientific discovery when is communicated effectively that’s when the lightbulb over my head turns on. I want everyone to have that lightbulb moment! I am a first-generation college student and know how incredibly important it is for scientists to be able to communicate effectively to the world. So many people are interested in science and we as scientists need to help make it more accessible. I want science to be straightforward and understandable to everyone from all backgrounds. No one else needs to feel sweaty and anxious! Science is so important in our everyday life and helping to effectively communicate discoveries is a goal I strive for everyday as a researcher.
*Managing editor term
2021