Kingston, RI – May 14, 2025 – Lindsey Reimels, a graduate of the University of Rhode Island, received a reception of the prestigious graduate scholarship in biology and whale researcher, received a prestigious graduate research scholarship on the National Science Foundation (NSF).
The NSF graduate research scholarship program recognizes and supports exceptional students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics disciplines pursuing advanced research diplomas in the United States. Scholarship holders receive an annual allowance and the financing of tuition fees and costs worth $ 159,000 over three years.
The National Science Foundation instituted the graduate research scholarship in 1952, with the aim of encouraging scientific research and guaranteeing complete research programs for students in the United States since then, the NSF has financed more than 46,500 scholarships. Many former graduate scholars have become laureates of the Nobel Prize and members of the National Academy of Sciences.
REUMELS plans to use its national scholarship from the National Science Foundation to the former Dominion University in Virginia to continue a doctorate. in ecological sciences from this fall. More specifically, it plans to dive deeper into the relationship between the whales of Baleen and the microplastics – a subject that she has spent her last two years studying in Uri.
Found worldwide, ball whales include several well -known whale species, including epic blue whale, the largest known animal ever existed. Several, like the whales and the right whale of the North Atlantic, also swim in the waters of New England.
The post -dead exams of the balls indicate that the whales ingest microplastics. With this scholarship, Reimels hopes to study what they ingest, the impact and the way in which consumption takes place between species.
“Hope is that these discoveries can help support the protection of marine mammals and the attenuation of plastic pollution,” she says.
Beginning of the state of the ocean
Growing up in the ocean state and spending your summers at the beach influenced its choice of studies, said Reimels.
“I was exposed to plastic pollution at a very young age and I have always found it concerning,” she says. But for Tiverton’s resident, going to Uri was an easy choice.
“As soon as I received my acceptance letter to Uri, I knew I wanted to go,” she recalls. “As a native Rhode Islander, I knew that Uri had out -of -competition attributes such as the Narragansett Bay campus and the R / V EffortProfessor Robert Ballard (who discovered the Titanic), and links with durable aquaculture with the Hyster Matuck bar. I did not know where the organic marine program would take me, but I was delighted to discover it. »»
During his second year, Reimels found Professor Associate Coleen Sucakling’s “Echinonerd” Laboratory And began to work with the student of the graduate of the time, Sarah Davis, Ph.D. ’24, examining the impacts of microplastic pollution on the navigable roads of Rhode Island, focusing on the transfer of microplastics with oriental oysters and Jonas crabs, who ingest them while nourishing themselves in bay. An article they have written together is now in progress and Reimels will be listed as the second author.
“I really appreciated tenacity and nature focused on the details of working in a microplastic laboratory and I loved working with live animals,” comments Reimels. “The more I learned about microplastics, the more questions I developed.”
This finally led him to work on his own independent research project by studying the relationship between microplastics and ball whales.
In addition to his studies, Reimels also played hockey on the club’s field and was active as a mentor in Uri. Last year, she worked in close collaboration with the associate teaching teacher Niels-Viggo Hobbs as mentor of the Marine Biology Program, describing him as one of his favorite experiences in Uri. She liked to support the undergraduate students of the maritime biology program, helping them to use URI’s resources to achieve their objectives and prepare for their future career.
“It is really rewarding to help to restore this incredible program that gave me many opportunities and put me on the right track to achieve my goals,” she said. “Without these opportunities and the support of my mentor, this would not have been possible. Be able to learn how to carry out research and work in the tests and tribulations that accompany it as the first cycle has been invaluable. It was a key factor to decide that I wanted to apply for the GRFP of the National Science Foundation and continue to do research at the Higher School. ”
As she goes to the next stage of her career, she will miss Rhode Island but is eager to see where her university career takes her now.
“I want to use my research to contribute to the attenuation of plastic pollution and the conservation of marine mammals,” explains Reimels. “The two causes are important to me, and being able to continue to study them is a dream come true.”
Three URI students also received honorable mentions of graduate research scholarships this year: Elise Vanluinen, which started a position at Dana Farber Cancer Institute conducting research on melanoma therapy, and student graduates Reese Kuber in the Graduate School of Oceanography and Benjamin Charo in the biological and environmental sciences of URI. Ph.D. Program.
For more information on the NSF graduate research scholarship program, or other opportunities or scholarship applications, visit or contact URI Office of national scholarships and academic opportunities.