Principal Investigator

Elizabeth Marchio, Ph.D.

I am a natural scientist turned social scientist. After earning my M.S. in Biological Sciences, I realized my true curiosity focused on how I overcame hurdles and persevered through a non-traditional undergraduate experience to not only graduate but go onto become a professional scientist. During my Ph.D. I explored Science as a Leisure activity by using leisure science theory and methods, focused on qualitative focus groups and semi-structured interviews across marine aquarists.

I grew up nature-oriented, a tomboy. My shoes were never clean because I was always out in a local creek looking for tadpoles. Growing up, my passion for science specified towards fish while working for aquarium stores and keeping my own aquaria. I wondered: did these formative, nature-oriented activities made me into a natural scientist and ichthyologist?

If so, does this happen in others? Can we promote science as a profession by promoting science as a leisure activity? Can citizen, or community, science be used to engage with communities that may not professionalize but may give people a healthy activity to engage in (e.g., retirees, veterans)?

Photos of Dr. Liz and collaborators across various projects.