Skylar Bayer, PhD

Skylar Bayer is a marine ecologist, storyteller, and science communicator. She is a tenure-track Assistant Professor of Biology and Aquaculture Extension Specialist at Roger Williams University in Rhode Island. Her research focuses on marine ecology, bivalves, aquaculture, and extension. She specializes in developing field methodologies that combine classic techniques of measurement and analysis with modern tools including environmental DNA analysis and nutrient analysis. Skylar holds a B.S. in Marine Biology from Brown University, a M.S. in Biological Oceanography from the MIT-WHOI Joint Program, and a Ph.D. in Marine Biology from University of Maine. She completed her Ph.D. in the secret sex lives of scallops, a subject that landed her on The Colbert Report in 2013. She is an alum of the Sea Grant Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship and has been a producer for The Story Collider since 2014. She is the co-editor with fellow MIT alum, Gabi Serrato Marks, of the upcoming book Uncharted: how scientists navigate health, research, and bias. When there isn’t a pandemic going on, she also enjoys Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, the gentle art.