Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals 2026

She studied Biology at Universidad Ricardo Palma. From 1995-1997 worked IMARPE, as the marine mammal coordinator. In 1995, she co-founded the NGO Pro Delphinus. Her research focuses on marine conservation and small-scale fisheries. In July 2001 she became a Global fellow at the Duke Marine Laboratory. Since 2002 Joanna has continued to work as Pro Delphinus President, extending its work to other marine species including seabirds, sharks and marine otters. Joanna obtained her PhD at University of Exeter, UK in 2012. Also in 2012, received the Whitley Award for Nature, in 2015 she received the Marsh Award for Marine Conservation Leadership in Latin America. In 2016 Joanna became President of the International Sea Turtle Society. She is also member of the IUCN Specialist Groups of Cetaceans, Turtles, Otters, Sharks and Signatids. In 2020, she received the Conservation Award Carlos Ponce as Artifice de la Conservacion. Joanna is a Faculty Member of Universidad Científica del Sur, where she continues to mentor the new generation of Peruvian marine researchers. She has also co-advised MSc students from Exeter Conservation Masters Programme. Joanna has authored and collaborated on over hundred and fifty peer reviewed publications on Peruvian aquatic biodiversity in collaboration with the international research community.

Dr. Robert Bonde has a Ph.D. in Veterinary Medical Sciences from University of Florida, and has dedicated 47 years of his career to studying manatees worldwide, including in the United States, Belize, Cuba, South America, and Africa. He is a retired research biologist from the U.S. Geological Survey, Sirenia Project. Throughout his career, Dr. Bonde has played a pivotal role in the conservation of manatees through stranding investigations, population monitoring, and longitudinal assessment of manatee health. Dr. Bonde continues to work as an adjunct professor in the graduate school at the University of Florida, and has served on more than 30 graduate student committees. Dr. Bonde has over 115 scientific publications and has coauthored with Dr. Roger Reep a book titled ‘The Florida Manatee: Biology and Conservation’. A Second Edition of the book was released in 2021.

Dr. Fernando Elorriaga is a full-time professor at the Interdisciplinary Center for Marine Sciences of the National Polytechnic Institute (CICIMAR-IPN) in La Paz, Mexico. His work and experience focus particularly on the ecology of pinnipeds found on Mexican islands such as Guadalupe, San Benito, and others along the Gulf of California. In addition, he collaborates with other research groups, strengthening lines of work that focus on other marine species. During his career, he has published, as lead author or co-author, more than 130 scientific articles in international journals, and he has been the main thesis advisor of approximately 45 students. From 2012 to 2018, he was Coordinator of the Mexican Marine Mammal Stranding Network, and from 2018 to 2021, he served as President of the Mexican Society of Marine Mammalogy (SOMEMMA). Today, he is member of the IUCN SSC Pinniped Specialist Group, and he is part of the scientific advisory committee of the Society for Marine Mammalogy (SMM).

Jorge Vélez-Juarbe is a vertebrate paleontologist and Associate Curator of Marine Mammals at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. His research integrates paleontology, biogeography, and evolutionary biology to investigate the deep-time history of marine mammals and other vertebrates, with particular emphasis on the origins of aquatic adaptations, island evolution, and Neogene marine ecosystems. He has conducted fieldwork throughout the Caribbean, North and South America, and his work has led to the description of numerous fossil taxa, including extinct sirenians, cetaceans, and other marine and terrestrial vertebrates. Through his research he explores how marine mammals evolved and how past environmental change has shaped marine biodiversity over millions of years.

Dr. Laura J. May-Collado is a Costa Rican evolutionary biologist whose research explores the evolution of acoustic communication in marine mammals. Born and raised in Costa Rica, she earned her B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Biology from the University of Costa Rica and her Ph.D. in Biology from Florida International University. Her research focuses on characterizing the vocal repertoires of toothed whales to investigate their phylogenetic and ecological determinants, as well as their role in the rapid diversification of odontocetes. By integrating phylogenetics, bioacoustics, and behavioral ecology, Dr. May-Collado works with collaborators to build a more comprehensive understanding of the evolution of acoustic communication in whales. In addition to her research, she serves as Chair of the Committee of Scientific Advisors for the Society for Marine Mammalogy and as a member of the Marine Mammal Commission’s Committee of Scientific Advisors on Marine Mammals. She is also a Research Associate at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and a founding member of Panacetacea, a non-governmental organization that supports marine mammal research and professional development in Panama and Central America. Through these roles—and over a 30-year career in teaching and research—Dr. May-Collado has advanced understanding of Central American marine mammals while training students from across the region and beyond.

Michael J. Moore has a veterinary degree from the University of Cambridge in the UK, and a PhD from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the USA. He has been based at WHOI in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, since 1986 where he is now a Senior Scientist. He is Director of the WHOI Marine Mammal Center and provides veterinary support to the Marine Mammal Rescue and Research division of the International Fund for Animal Welfare, supporting their work with stranded marine mammals on Cape Cod. His research encompasses the forensic analysis of marine mammal mortalities, especially in regard to the accurate diagnosis of perceived human impacts and the prevalence of zoonotic agents, large whale health assessment at sea using unmanned aerial systems, the interaction of natural and man-made impacts on fish and marine mammal stocks, pathophysiology of marine mammal diving, and development of systems to enhance medical intervention with large whales and technologies to reduce large whale entanglement.

Mike Castellini received his bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of California, San Diego; his doctorate in marine biology and his first postdoc at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UCSD; and further postdoc work at the University of British Columbia Vancouver. His research focus has been on comparative vertebrate physiology, biochemistry and behavioral adaptations in diving marine mammals and birds. Further research involved population health and response to climate change. His fascination with seals, whales, other marine mammals, and seabirds has led him to join in on over 20 sea expeditions in the Antarctic and the Arctic polar regions. He arrived at University of Alaska Fairbanks in 1989 and was the founding director of the Alaska SeaLife Center from 1995-1999. Castellini was also integral in the startup of the Research Vessel Sikuliaq , a world-renowned research facility, and has been the senior director of the BLaST Research Enrichment Core since 2016. Castellini retired in December 2020 after almost 50 years in research, authorship, and service.

Nantarika Chansue received her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree with honors from Chulalongkorn University in 1987 and her Doctor of Philosophy degree from the College of William and Mary, USA in 1994. She was named the director of Chulalongkorn University’s Veterinary Medical Aquatic Animal Research Center in 1989. Professor Nantarika Chansue has dedicated her life as a veterinarian and conservationist to save animal lives and the environment in which they live. She is a charismatic leader who has inspired changes in policy, conservation action, veterinary practices and has worked towards the betterment of social practices towards animals as well as empowering women to develop careers. Her exemplary behavior and practices have inspired many to realize the importance of giving professionally and socially.