Marine Biological Hall Of Distinction: Prerana Gawde
- ThePersaudCatalog
- Jun 25
- 6 min read
This article is part of our collection known as the Marine Hall of Distinction. In this special collection, we will discuss marine biologists who have served marine biology and oceanography the most. We do this to commemorate these marine biologists and show gratitude for everything they have contributed to our oceans. Today's marine scientist is Prerana Gawde.
Prerana Gawde is an Indian Marine Biologist, Ecologist, & Ph.D. student at Stanford University. She is an emerging scientist who is known for her own at the Dakshin foundation in India, a foundation primarily dedicated to environmental research & social justice related to the ocean.
In today's article, we are going to be discussing Prerana Gawde’s formative years & education, her personal life & career, & finally her achievements, honors, & awards. With that being said, let us plunge into today's article!
Her Formative Years & Education
Prerana Gawde was born in the late 1980s or early 1990s, in Mumbai, India. As a juvenile, she kept to herself, & would often find herself lost in contemplation. Her parents drove her to be an independent, self-sufficient, liberal young woman, & pushed for her to get an education as possible, not only in an academic sense. She dove into non-fiction books as a hobby, & swam throughout her neighbourhood in freshwater pools. In addition to this, her mother would impart her adoration & appreciation of nature onto her. Both would serve her well in her future career.
Of all of these things, one specific interaction with her 8th-grade Science Teacher set her on her track towards biology. One day, after receiving her biology paper back from her then biology teacher Ms. Selvaraj, she noticed a written note saying “Very Good!”. It was this small piece of praise which inspired her to explore biological sciences, & so to speak, catapulted her into a sea of science.
In addition to this, she began taking a course with the University of Mumbai’s Department of Extra Mural Studies, a center for extra courses that the general populace can take to learn more about various interesting subjects, for a certificate. This course introduced her to new people from a diversity of backgrounds, & introduced her to scientists, zoologists, & naturalists across disciplines. It is also one of the key factors that pushed her to become a marine biologist, & naturalist.
After completing her High School education, she began studying Zoological & Biological Sciences at the University of Mumbai in 2009, Her time was filled to the brim with lectures, coursework, & exam preparation, however, she felt unfulfilled. She had 5 continuous years of rigorous studying in a formal setting discussing everything there was about Zoology, however, very little field experience.
This itch to get hands-on experience in the field led her to become PADI-certified as a Scuba Diver, her first step into the underwater world. This certification landed her a position as a Scuba Diving Instructor in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands, & helped formally spark her interest in the field of Marine Science. After her time as a Scuba Diving Instructor, she decided to pursue her Master’s degree, & as such, began pursuing a Master’s Degree in Marine Sciences at James Cook University in Australia in 2016. She realized that its proximity to the Great Barrier Reef would allow her to learn more about the ocean, & leapt at the opportunity. She would go on to graduate in 2018.
She is currently pursuing her P.h.D at Stanford University in California, studying interdisciplinary research frameworks to study maritime heritage within marine ecosystems, which studies human cultural, & historical interactions with the ocean as it relates to marine ecosystems. This includes studying historical fisheries & their impacts on marine ecosystems, historical mariculture, cultural fishing tactics, & marine animals as cultural symbols.
Her Career & Personal Life
In her interval between her Master’s Degree & P.hD, she found herself in an odd situation of not being a student, yet yearning for more field experience. So, she began sending emails to professors all around India, until one fateful interview led her to Professor Kartik Shanker of the Indian Institute of Science, & Dr. Naveen Nambroothi of the Dakshin Foundation.
The Dakshin Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to conserving India’s environment, & environmental justice. A large part of environmental justice revolves around exploring human relationships with the environment, something Prerana was already interested in. Seeing potential in her, Professor Shanker offered her a volunteer role at ANET however her family was hesitant to allow her to go. Finally, her sister explained that she should be allowed to forge her path in the world, & her parents accepted this opportunity & encouraged her to take the position.
After finishing her volunteer role at ANET, she was inspired by a fellow researcher, Mahima Jaini, to stay in the Archipelago. She worked odd jobs as a receptionist & as housekeeping staff for a resort, before becoming a divemaster for a Scuba Diving Agency. This role would give her the experience necessary to return to India after her Master’s Degree in Australia, & finally begin her work with the Dakshin Foundation. Beautifully, the project which she returned to work on was initiated & managed by the very researcher who inspired her to stay, Mahima Jaini.
In her studies, she specifically studied small-scale pole & line tuna fisheries, a prominent source of income in the local economy. She studied a specific kind of bait fish, a fish used to bait large predatory fish such as tuna, as the stock of bait fish must be sustainable for the tuna fishery to be sustainable as one depends on the other. She studied the stock of bait fish, developed protocols to help locals ensure sustainability in bait fish stocks, & assisted in the creation of a bait fish map to assist local fishermen & ensure that no one population was being targeted.
This helped strengthen her interest in studying human relationships with the ocean, an often destructive & sadly understudied topic.
Prerana Gawde is currently studying for her P.hD at Stanford University in Southern California, studying interdisciplinary research frameworks for maritime heritage within marine ecosystems.
Her Awards, Achievements, Accomplishments, & Honorables
She earned the Best Researcher Award for her work in Maritime Heritage at the International Research Data Analysis Summit.
She did valuable work on small-scale fisheries in the Andaman Islands with the highly esteemed Dakshin Foundation.
She is pursuing a P.hD at one of the most prestigious universities on Earth, Stanford University of Stanford, California.
She has 4 scientific publications as of now, including a publication in the prestigious International Journal of Historical Archaeology.
During the COVID-19 Pandemic, she worked with multiple organizations to assist with delivering food, transportation, water, & medicine to coastal communities & families across India, including the HelpAge India Foundation.
Directories / Credits
Citation 1: “Ms. Prerana Gawde | Maritime Heritage Ecology | Best Researcher Award”, Written by Unknown, & Published at an Unknown Date. Published by the International Research & Data Analysis Summit.
https://researchdataanalysis.com/prerana-gawde-maritime-heritage-ecology-best-researcher-award-2861/
Citation 2: “Marine Biologist Interview”, Written by Shyam Krishnamurthy, & Published on October 30th, 2024.
Citation 3: “Prerana Gawde”, Written by Unknown & Published in September of 2024. Published by Stanford University.
Citation 4: “Exploring the depths: The adventures of a marine biologist”, Written by Sanjana Chevalam and Pragya Solanki, & Published on September 18th, 2023. Published by the Rukhmabai Intiatives.
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