Episode 8: From accountant to orca scientist with Clare Andvik
Season 1, Episode 8
6 years ago, Clare was working a job she hated in a high-pressured accountancy firm in London. But then one day, after over 12 hours in the office, she came home and had a major re-assessment of what she wanted to do with her life - and today, she’s living her childhood dream and is studying whales. Now PhD candidate at the University of Oslo, Clare is researching the effects of pollution in Norwegian orcas. On this episode, we discuss her paper, titled “Preying on seals pushes killer whales from Norway above pollution effects thresholds” and why having a child and doing marine science as woman shouldn’t be mutually exclusive.
Introducing: Clare Andvik
6 years ago I was working a job I hated in a high pressured accountancy firm in London. One day, after over 12 hours in the office, I came home and had a major re-assessment of what I wanted to do with my life. I had always loved marine biology and my childhood dream had been to study whales, and I thought well... it’s now or never! With tuition fees in the UK way out of my budget, I looked to Europe. Norway soon caught my eye, with its long coastline and amazing abundance of marine mammal life. I got a place at the University of Oslo to take my second bachelor degree, in biology (my first bachelors in the UK was philosophy). The whole bachelors course was taught in Norwegian, and so the university provided a year of free Norwegian lessons. I became fluent in Norwegian after that year, took the bachelors and then a masters in Oslo. I was determined to write my masters thesis on whales, and was lucky enough that after (multiple!) emails, the non-profit research group Norwegian Orca Survey took me on as a volunteer, and later as a supervisor on my master thesis. I learnt so much during those years, and was involved in all parts of the research: from taking samples from wild orcas in the field, to analysing the samples in the lab, and then doing statistical analyses and writing. The linked paper is from my master thesis and is my first lead author paper. So much work is behind it, and I am so proud of it. I am now working at the Norwegian Environment Agency, and will be starting a PhD soon at the University of Oslo to continue my research on effects of pollution in Norwegian orcas. Dreams really do come true!
Featured Paper
Preying on seals pushes killer whales from Norway above pollution effects thresholds
About the Podcast
Did you know that women are still rarely featured as first authors in leading scientific journals? Hosted by marine biologists Madeline St Clair & Charlie Young, the brand new Women in Ocean Science Podcast is here to put a new spin on scientific publications and to smash down gender stereotypes in marine science. From chemical oceanography to fisheries to tropical marine biology, the podcast champions the women behind the science, featuring a different ocean science paper and its corresponding author each week. Tune in every Monday for a podcast that celebrates the pioneering female researchers of today - and sheds a positive light on protecting the ocean.