Nury Molina

she/her

B.S. Environmental Science, 2019

Nury Molina is a Ph.D. candidate in the Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology department at the University of California, Santa Barbara. She is a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Dr. Nancy Foster Scholar, a UC Regents Graduate Fellowship recipient, and a member of The Explorers Club. Her research focuses on the feeding behavior of herbivorous fish on coral reefs in Moorea, French Polynesia, and American Samoa. Nury’s dissertation aims to elucidate the key roles different herbivorous fish species play in coral reef ecosystems to inform management decisions.

In addition to her research, Nury has gained marine policy experience through her involvement with the proposed National Marine Sanctuary designation of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. She earned a B.S. in Environmental Science with a Minor in Conservation Biology from UCLA in 2019. During her time at UCLA, she was a National Institutes of Health (NIH) IMSD Scholar and a UCLA CARE Science, Engineering, and Math Summer Research Program Fellow. She also received the UCLA A.R. Wallace Scholarship for International Field and Marine Research, which supported her research in Australia for UCLA’s Marine Biology Quarter. Nury was also a mentor for the Environmental Student Network, participated in The Diversity Project, and was a UCLA cheerleader.