About

Hello! Thanks for being here. My name is Allison Cusick.

This About Me is LONG, so grab a nice martini or mocktail. or beer. or coffee. or tea. or heck, why not a 4L motivational water bottle. pick your poison.

I was born and raised in Seattle, Washington, and at age 33 moved to California to pursue graduate school at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego (USA).

I have traveled to 37 countries and all 7 continents. I yearn to learn everything. I speak English, French & Spanish and I geek out on science topics daily. I have way too much energy which is redirected to running (50k ultras), cycling (yes to century rides), swimming (hello open ocean), Ironman70.3 races, hiking, traveling, learning, dressing up in costumes, socializing, coffee-drinking, playing music, and painting. Some may perceive me to be burning the candle at both ends but what they don’t realize is that I am just a hummingbird moving at warp speed which relative to a hummingbird feels like “normal” speed.

I consider myself to be an adventurer and a scientist. In particular, I am a biologist specializing in understanding polar ecosystems. I study phytoplankton in polar fjords of Antarctica and I co-created and manage the citizen science project FjordPhyto, engaging Antarctic travelers in cutting edge polar research.  The samples collected by citizen scientists on tour vessels helps me to understand the seasonal changes of phytoplankton along the Antarctic Peninsula and how melting glaciers may influence the species of phytoplankton we observe from November through March. In addition to my work as a scientist, I am also a polar guide, and I absolutely love working outdoors in the harsh polar maritime environment, sharing my passion with travelers on board tour expedition vessels. Its funny, because I never grew up with a love for the ocean. In fact, you can read about my disdain for it in this blog post.

After receiving my B.Sc. in Biology from the University of Washington (2006) I took 10 years “off”. I put “off” in quotes, because in fact, I never intended to ever go to graduate school. I am the first and only person in my family to go beyond High School, so a B.Sc. was an amazing achievement. I spent 10 years working so many incredible jobs as a neuroscientist, immunologist, ornithologist, baker, bartender and field biologist. By serendipity, I first traveled to Antarctica in 2013 and spent 53-days aboard the RV Nathaniel B Palmer ice-breaker in the Ross Sea and I was hooked. I felt like an astronaut landing on another planet. In that moment, I decided I would dedicate my career to becoming a polar scientist. The same day I boarded the Palmer icebreaker for the two-month expedition at sea, I ran a marathon on the Ross Ice Shelf, dressed as a banana.

I realized, in order to continue growing as a scientist, getting a graduate degree would benefit my career goals, so in 2016 I moved to San Diego to pursue a Masters (M.A.S.) in Marine Biodiversity & Conservation at Scripps Institution of Oceanography (2017). I spent that year in the M.A.S. creating FjordPhyto. While creating this program I figured someone had to stick around to run it, and part of me was ready to grow as a scientist and become “the boss” of my creative ideas. I realized that pursuing a Ph.D. would only help me on my path of doing the kind of science I truly loved, and give me a sense of entrepreneurship. So I applied to be in the PhD program. I didn’t get in at first. There was no funding. So I worked with Dr. Maria Vernet to submit a proposal to NSF Office of Polar Programs.

After graduating with my MAS degree I flew back up to Seattle to teach a genetics course with the Institute for Systems Biology Dynamic DNA and after that found a job back in San Diego as a Senior Research Associate working on algal biofuel research with a team at Synthetic Genomics (now called Viridos). A couple months later, I got word our NSF proposal was funded and I started the PhD program, three weeks later. I was ecstatic! For the first 3 years of PhD life, I kept my job in the algal biofuel lab working part time (10-hours a week). I also started traveling to Antarctica again. Since 2017, I have visited the western Antarctic Peninsula every season working as a polar scientist, citizen science coordinator, polar guide, boat driver, and lecturer on board tour expedition vessels. In total I have spent over 300 days working in Antarctica. During my time at Scripps I have also become a AAUS diver, took a free-diver course, and become a small-boats operator. I have also had the chance to continue writing grants and received funding from NASA to continue the work of FjordPhyto.

I feel like I have finally reached a beautiful blend of work that affords me most of all the components that make me happy in life and a career. I value my time in the lab, time in the field, opportunities to teach,  to learn, to collaborate with other amazing people, and to work on a flexible time schedule. Chasing the money? I gave up that dream loooong long ago when I decided to pursue a career in environmental ecology-related research!

Disclaimer: If you aren’t sure what you want to study in your career, I highly recommend taking time off before going to graduate school to explore.  I spent 10 years working as a research technician with a Bachelors on various projects and do not regret for a moment all the experiences I’ve gained which I now bring to my life as a graduate student. You have time and its never too late.

I originally started this website in 2015 as a place where I could share stories and interviews of other women who have diverse interests and hobbies and who are rocking it in the science world getting out in the field. Back in 2015, social media hadn’t really kicked off in the way we know it now, it was difficult to find bios of women working in science in ‘unconventional’ ways. So I wanted to highlight others doing field-based science and being badass. Over the years this site has morphed, evolved, and is probably due for an overhaul.

I hope that after reading various blogs on my site you feel inspired, empowered, and encouraged to pursue a career in field-based science.  In school we are constantly presented with the “more conventional” job paths. Out-of-the-box jobs, the jobs that impassion us, are the elusive unicorns and they take more creativity, more risk, more trial-and-error, and more resilience to track down and tame. As we get to know ourselves, our interests, and what fits better with our personalities, we discover what will work or not work for the lifestyle we desire. The path doesn’t look the same for everyone and we should embrace all the flavors instead of sticking ourselves in a rigid box!

I will share my insights on what I’ve managed to do thus far , as well as share what other ladies have done, in order to show you it is indeed possible to blend most all of your passions in unique ways within science.

Maybe you have some ideas to share with me?

I created a silly little intro video of myself in an attempt to illustrate that a woman scientist does not have to be the stereotypical white haired old person.

I am also a FabFems Role Model and a Letters to a PreScientist Pen Pal.

Other Blogs: I have two other blogs documenting my experiences in the Amazon and in Antarctica. I think I will leave them as their own entity for now but you can read more by clicking on the links! I also run www.fjordphyto.org the Antarctic Citizen Science Project.

Embrace the unconventional!

Share this:
by