Dr. Laura J May-Collado

Laura J May-Collado is a Costa Rican marine mammal biologist that studies the evolution of marine mammal communication. Her research combines phylogenetics, acoustics, soundscape ecology, and behavior to study the diversity of marine mammal acoustic repertoires in their rapidly changing environments.  She is an Assistant Professor at the University of Vermont and a Research Associate at Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama. She is the first Central American scientist leading the Committee for Scientific Advisors at the Society for Marine Mammalogy, and is a co-founder of Panacetacea, a non-profit organization that supports marine mammal research in Central America. In addition, to her research, a long-term goal of her career is to enhance the career trajectory of Central American scientists through training in scientific writing and research so that they can address research and conservation challenges marine mammals face in the region.