Thomas Morales has been selected as one of 22 fellows for the prestigious 2025 California Sea Grant State Fellowship! This fellowship is a “policy based fellowship focused on ocean and coastal conservation and policy allowing fellows first hand experiences within California run agencies.” Thomas will work with the California State Coastal Conservancy for 2025 in the South Coast Fellowship position. This will provide Thomas with a unique opportunity to learn and acquire new skills regarding coastal and ocean policies.
Thomas received a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science from SDSU in 2020. Receiving his BS caused Thomas to gain interest in environmental health as he wanted to learn more about the natural and built environment. Subsequently, he discovered the Masters of Science with the Environmental Health division in the School of Public Health. Thomas graduated in 2023 and has continued to work in the environmental health field. He is currently an environmental health research assistant in Dr. Eunha Hoh’s lab that focuses on a dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT+) project.
Thomas became interested in DDT+ research after working in Dr. Hoh’s lab, which previously focused on “research investigating DDT+ in dolphins, whales, and condors.” He has an interest in California halibut because he grew up harvesting and eating California halibut from various locations in San Diego County with his father and family. As a Native American, he finds it important to research what chemicals are found in various fish species (ancestral foods). He wants to further research California fish and how the chemicals found in it can lead to impacts on human health. Thomas put forth the idea to analyze California Halibut that he caught in San Diego County in Dr. Hoh’s lab and is now in the process of preparing the samples for analysis. His current research “investigates DDT+ chemical contaminant profiles in California Halibut within the Southern California Bight.”
Thomas is excited and grateful for this fellowship and the opportunities it will lead to. He looks forward to continuing learning about how policy and data science interact and more specifically about coastal and ocean policies and how they can impact human health.
