A scientist standing on a small boat wearing an orange life vest pulls a red rope to retrieve a sampling instrument. In the background is blue ocean with hazy blue sky on the horizon.
Image courtesy of Lael Wakamatsu

Year: 2021, 2023

School: University of Tasmania

Project: Zooplankton grazing and toxic algal blooms in the California Current System

Advisor: Monique Messié, George Matsumoto

Currently: Marine scientist

A summer of discovery at MBARI can shape a lifetime of research. Lael Wakamatsu is one example.

Former MBARI intern Lael Wakamatsu is now a postdoctoral researcher studying harmful algal blooms. She uses data, modeling, and machine learning to understand and predict how these events impact coastal ecosystems.

Meet the scientist

Wakamatsu focuses on one of the ocean’s most pressing challenges: harmful algal blooms (HABs).

To identify the key drivers behind bloom formation and predict how these events may change in the future, her work combines:

  • Remote sensing
  • In situ ocean data
  • AI and machine learning models

An early start at MBARI

A scientist wearing an orange life vest crouches down on the gray deck of a small boat to examine a sample of seawater and plankton. She is surrounded by several bags of scientific equipment on the ship’s deck. In the background is blue ocean with cloudy blue sky on the horizon.
After her MBARI internship, Lael Wakamatsu continued her research on the factors driving plankton blooms with a postdoctoral fellowship at the Tohoku University and JAMSTEC Advanced Institute for Marine Ecosystem Change (WPI-AIMEC). Image courtesy of Lael Wakamatsu

During her internship at MBARI with Senior Research Specialist Monique Messié and the Data Integration and Interdisciplinary Oceanography Team, Wakamatsu worked on developing a mechanistic model of harmful algal blooms and their impacts on plankton ecosystems.

The experience helped shape her scientific direction and motivated her to pursue her own individual research.

For Wakamatsu, MBARI stood out as a uniquely immersive and collaborative environment.

“The internship is so well organized, and all of us interns were able to connect and support each other,” she said, giving high praise to MBARI’s integrated model. “It’s unique to have scientists and engineers working so closely together, with access to incredible technology.”

“You get to work with world-leading experts who are not only brilliant, but also kind and invested in your success.”

—Lael Wakamatsu

A lasting lesson

One of the most important takeaways from her time at MBARI continues to guide her work today.

“The best science comes from interdisciplinary collaboration and a kind working environment,” said Wakamatsu, noting that at MBARI, she saw firsthand how teams working across disciplines—and supporting one another—can solve complex problems more effectively.

Why MBARI matters

“You get to work with world-leading experts who are not only brilliant, but also kind and invested in your success,” said Wakamatsu, emphasizing that the value of the internship extends far beyond technical skills.

That combination of hands-on experience, cutting-edge tools, and strong mentorship creates a ripple effect.

“It motivates us to bring that knowledge back to our own institutions and to give back by supporting the next generation,” she said.

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