Meet The Team

Name: Raschelli (Schelli) Linz

Hometown: 

Milton, West Virginia

School/University, Major, and Year Graduated: 
• Florida Institute of Technology, BS Marine Biology, 2016
• Florida Institute of Technology, MS Marine Biology, 2016
• Florida Atlantic University, MS Biological Sciences, 2023

Seasons with LMC: 3 (including 2026)

What sparked your interest in sea turtles and sea turtle research?
For as long as I can remember, I have been enthralled with animals of all types. Growing up in West Virginia, there was little opportunity to investigate those animals that inhabit the marine environment, outside of the occasional trip to an out-of-state aquarium or a summer vacation to exotic coastal locales, like Myrtle Beach, SC. It was on one such educational excursion that I encountered my first live sea turtle. This experience left me captivated and set in motion a quest to become a marine biologist, along with every other 90s kid that owned a Lisa Frank dolphin folder. As I continued to pursue the study of marine biology outside of the realm of mere childhood curiosity, I developed a genuine research interest in sea turtles, particularly leatherbacks, which led me to ultimately pursue my PhD in 2021. 

What is your favorite part of working on a high-density nesting beach?
Working on a high-density nesting beach, there is rarely a dull moment, which helps the often cold or buggy, late nights go by a little faster. This nesting beach is a provides the unique opportunity to regularly work directly with 3 different species, which provides the availability to use robust sample sizes to effectively answer important questions regarding population demographics, threat assessment, and intraspecies comparison. Because our beach provides an ideal environment to answer these questions, it frequently brings the ability to collaborate with researchers from other institutions and participate in data collection for a wide variety of projects, which is an amazing opportunity at this point in my career. In addition to the obvious scientific benefit of a working on a high-density nesting beach, getting to work directly with these species every night is just objectively extremely cool and makes my inner, animal-obsessed child very happy.

Tell us about yourself! (background, career aspirations, and any relevant experiences you’d like to share):
My thesis during my master's degree at Florida Tech focused on modeling nesting habitat usage in response to various environmental and anthropogenic variables, which allowed me to develop skills in spatial ecology and statistical modeling. Directly after completing my master's, I leveraged my experience as a graduate teaching assistant to secure a job teaching biology and marine science at the high school level and take a break from academics. This work is what initially brought me to West Palm Beach and eventually reignited my passion for research, which led me to ultimately pursue my PhD in the Milton lab at Florida Atlantic University. My current work utilizes field sampling and controlled experimentation on cultured cells to identify biomarkers of stress and contaminant exposure in Florida's nesting leatherbacks. In addition to my research background, I utilize my scientific illustration skills to create visuals associated with my work and the natural world in general. Immediately after graduation, I will be seeking a postdoctoral fellowship, then eventually pursuing a career in research and/or academia.