Alexandra McInturf

Alex McInturf is a CICOES postdoctoral fellow in the Big Fish Lab. Born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, she attended Williams College for her undergraduate education. Following graduation, she was an intern with Oceans Research (South Africa) and the Bimini Shark Lab (Bahamas), where she studied white sharks, tiger sharks, hammerhead sharks, and sandtiger sharks. She obtained her PhD in Animal Behavior from the University of California, Davis, for which she examined physiology, behavior, and distribution of basking sharks, sevengill sharks, and salmon. In addition to research, Alex is an avid science communicator, soccer player, cyclist, weight lifter, reader, baker, and dog mom.

Alex’s interest in sharks began when she was very young, as family trips to Florida coincided with Discovery Channel’s Shark Week. Raised in a landlocked state, she credits her initial fear of sharks and unfamiliarity with the ocean for prompting her exploration to better understand this environment. While in Ohio, she volunteered at the local Newport Aquarium (KY) and reading every book she could find on sharks, skates, and rays. During her time at William College (MA), she also enrolled in the Williams-Mystic Coastal and Ocean Studies program to learn a more interdisciplinary approach to studying the sea. She took a gap year following her college graduation to gain more hands-on, shark-focused research experience, traveling to South Africa and the Bahamas on student internships. During this time, she applied for