Olivia Pares
Maryland, USA
Marine Biologist / Disease Ecologist /Molecular Biologist/
Environmental Researcher/ Scientific Illustrator
ABOUT ME
Invertebrates, parasites, and the occasional oil painting.
My name is Dr. Olivia Pares, I’m a molecular ecologist from Puerto Rico, and I find things in the ocean that are hard to see. A virus spreading through a crab population. An invasive species that hasn't established yet. The work happens in the field and at the bench, trapping crabs and filtering water, then building the molecular assays that turn a single water sample into a list of what's living around it.
It matters because coastal fisheries feed and employ people, and the threats to them stay invisible until they get expensive. Catching an outbreak or an invasion early is the difference between managing a problem and absorbing a loss. I also paint the animals I study, because a good image reaches people that a paper never will.
Mission
To serve my community through research that improves the quality of life for those who depend on natural resources, while protecting what needs protecting and exploring the unknown.
Vision
Through my work, I wish to reach to a wider audience, sharing my findings, connecting them to this vast field and showing them the impact and connection they have with the environment.
BACKGROUND
Professional Career
I earned my B.S. in Biology from the Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, where I worked part-time as a biology tutor and teaching assistant for Prof. Lázaro and for STEMmED, a high school outreach program for the university. After moving to Maryland, I spent two years in industry at a flavor and fragrance manufacturer, joining as a lab technician and earning a promotion to junior analytical chemist.
I returned to research through the Marine Estuarine Environmental Science graduate program, entering as a master's student and transitioning to the doctoral track shortly after, with support from the National Science Foundation and the NOAA Living Marine Resources Cooperative Science Center. As a graduate research assistant in Dr. Eric Schott's lab, I built my dissertation around two connected questions: the life history of Callinectes crabs in tropical estuaries, and the disease ecology of the blue crab–CsRV1 system across latitudes.
Along the way, a 12-week NOAA Experiential Research and Training Opportunity placed me with the Protected Resources Division, where I worked with Helena Antoun on a synthesis of current stony coral tissue loss disease research.I later earned a Smithsonian Pre-doctoral Fellowship, mentored by Dr. Eric Schott and Dr. Katrina Lohan, to investigate the host range of CsRV1 across Callinectes species in Florida and their panopeid prey, with additional support from an underrepresented-minorities research grant from The Helminthological Society of Washington
Since completing my doctorate, I have been a postdoctoral researcher in the Coastal Disease Ecology and Marine Invasions Lab, where I compare eDNA sampling strategies for monitoring non-indigenous species around offshore energy infrastructure. This appointment concludes in December, and I am actively seeking my next postdoctoral position, ideally one where molecular tools, field ecology, and applied management questions continue to meet.
Scientific Illustrations
I'm open to new opportunities in marine disease ecology, molecular monitoring, aquaculture and fisheries science. Get in touch! I'm always glad to talk about the work!