My name is Guanbo and I am a masters student from Northeastern University Three Seas Program. I was born and grew up in north China and went to ShenZhen University for my undergraduate studies, which is located in the south end of the country. I spent a year and a half working in an algal engineering and genetics lab in college, where I developed a great set of skills for molecular cloning and genetics in general, but also realized that endless labwork was definitely not my thing. I was not always a marine enthusiast, but I had a passion for all the animals and wildlife. It wasn’t until graduate school, where I became a scientific diver and did around 80 dives in Boston, Panama and Friday Harbor, that I became passionate about the ocean and amazing marine life. The great snorkeling experiences with spotted dolphins in Panama actually for the first time made up my mind that I wanted to pursue a career with marine mammals. Currently as an intern in Hawaii office, I’m working on photo IDs of both rough-tooted and bottlenose dolphins while doing an independent project focusing on Risso’s dolphin occurrence and shifts in Southern California Bight by using sightings and photo-ID.
Summer 2019