Hello! I’m a 2025 Knauss Fellow at the US National Science Foundation working in the Division of Ocean Sciences. I’m an alumna of the School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences at University of Washington, where I was co-advised by Dr. Tim Essington and Dr. Ray Hilborn during my time as a PhD student. My name is pronounced Hel-AY-na Mic-MON-ah-gull.

I’m interested in better understanding the impacts of humans on the marine environment, and in doing science and science communication that informs science-based decision-making, conservation and sustainable use of marine resources. For my dissertation, I worked on describing and quantifying the carbon transport and sequestration associated with small but abundant fishes that live in the ocean’s twilight zone, and characterizing uncertainty in those estimates. These fishes play a role in sequestering carbon and moving energy up to higher levels in the marine food web. To study these topics, I use a combination of ecological modeling and data collection at sea and in the lab. Other professional interests include communicating science to a broad audience, teaching, and science policy. Outside of work you can find me hiking in the summer, cross-country skiing in the winter, and spending time with family and friends.

Linked above are my CV and the websites of the two lab groups I’m a part of at University of Washington. My email and Github page are linked in the icons below. Please feel free to reach out with questions about the research I’m involved in, my code shared on Github, twilight zone fish, careers in ocean sciences or anything else.