Qualifications:

PhD student, Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore

Email: imransamad@iisc.ac.in

Profile:

Imran grew up in the landlocked mountains of the Himalayas in Darjeeling but found his fascination with the sea and its majestic creatures through nature documentaries and reading about inspirational marine biologists. He is interested in understanding the ecology of cetaceans and other large residents of the sea and their interactions with humans. He combines his curiosity-driven motivation with a problem-solving mindset nurtured through his training as an engineer. Currently, he is pursuing his PhD with Prof. Kartik Shanker at CES, IISc in Bangalore, aiming to understand the factors governing the bycatch risk of various elasmobranchs and cetaceans at different locations throughout the country. At Dakshin, his work is supported by the Marine Flagships programme, which also helps him translate his research into community-based conservation.

To know more, visit Imran’s website.