Environmental Studies Student Natalya Gallo Awarded Switzer Fellowship at Scripps Institute

Natalya Gallo, PhD Student at UC San Diego, Receives 2017 Switzer Environmental Fellowship

Natalya Gallo, a PhD student at the University of California San Diego, has been selected as a 2017 recipient of the Switzer Environmental Fellowship. The fellowship, a program of the Robert and Patricia Switzer Foundation, is the hallmark of Switzer Foundation programs and provides financial support to scholars pursuing research in environmental science.

This year, twenty environmental scholars were awarded Switzer fellowships. Lissa Widoff, the executive director of the Switzer Foundation, stated that the 2017 fellows represent the diversity needed to address today's environmental problems. The fellows indeed come from a diversity of backgrounds and expertise, with topics ranging from invasive species in terrestrial ecosystems to corporate environmental liability.

Gallo's research focuses on low-oxygen marine environments, called upwelling areas. She has conducted research in the California Current Ecosystem, the Gulf of California, and off the coast of Chile. Gallo studies how low-oxygen conditions influence the ecological composition and diversity of fish communities.

In addition to her research, Gallo is passionate about improving the interface between ocean scientists and policy-makers. She has participated in four international United Nations climate negotiations and the UN Oceans conference. In 2013, Gallo co-founded the group Ocean Scientists for Informed Policy.

The fellowship provides each fellow with $15,000 for academic expenses. Gallo looks forward to networking and working with other Switzer Fellows towards solutions to some of today's leading environmental challenges. Switzer Fellows share a passion and commitment to improving environmental conditions and reflect diverse communities concerned about environmental impacts.

Seven recipients are from the University of California system. Devish Vashishtha, a student at the School of Medicine, is one of the recipients from UC San Diego. Environmental problems are increasingly seen as social problems, according to Lissa Widoff, and the Switzer Fellowship aims to support researchers who can address these issues from a multidisciplinary perspective.

Gallo is optimistic about the future of environmental research and policy. She stated, "I am excited to work with other Switzer Fellows to find innovative solutions to some of the most pressing environmental challenges of our time." The Switzer Environmental Fellowship is an important step in supporting the next generation of environmental leaders.

Environmental Studies Student Natalya Gallo Awarded Switzer Fellowship at Scripps Institute