About Meghna N.'s Work

Meghna is currently a CINAR Postdoctoral Fellow working with the NOAA (National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Association) NEFSC (Northeast Fisheries Science Center) Cooperative Research Branch and SMAST (School of Marine Science & Technology, University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth). In this role, Meghna is using high-resolution fishery dependent data to better understand how offshore wind installation may impact fishing operations. 

In spring 2023, Meghna completed her Ph.D. in Organismic and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst where her dissertation considered how climate change may influence migration patterns and population dynamics in anadromous river herring and how these biological impacts may affect broader ecosystems and related global food system. Her dissertation incorporated genetic, artificial intelligence, and statistical modelling applications. Meghna also earned her M.S. in Organismic and Evolutionary Biology at UMass-Amherst and her B.S. in wildlife biology at McGill University. 

At UMass, Meghna we also part of the USGS Wildlife COOP unit. In addition to her dissertation research, Meghna led an interdisciplinary research team to consider access, safety, and equity of urban fishing in the Gulf Coast as a Co-PI and Graduate Fellow at the National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center (SESYNC) in Annapolis, MD. Meghna has also played an active role in establishing and sustaining programs to support students in ecology and conservation who may be from traditionally marginalized backgrounds. Specifically, she is passionate about creating accessible mentoring and internship opportunities, fostering safe spaces, and addressing issues of equity in the classroom and in research labs.