Scientist Spotlight: Jackie Allen

Who are you outside of work? What do you like to do for fun?

I am a wife and a mother to my five year old daughter. I like to read, watch TV, play video games, and go outside to enjoy nature, whether at the park or the beach.

What is your job title? Can you describe your job in 5 words?

I am a Wildlife Biologist at the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. My job in 5 words: Study fish DNA for conservation.

What’s the story of how you got to where you are today?

Growing up I wanted to be a veterinarian. I went to Goucher College and majored in Biology and took all the classes needed to apply for veterinary school. I also enjoyed doing research with my Ecology professor before graduating college, so I still wasn't positive I actually wanted to be a veterinarian. After graduation, I spent three years working at an animal hospital and then at the National Institutes of Health as a veterinary assistant. After that real life experience, I decided I didn’t want to become a veterinarian, but I wanted to do research in Biology. I decided to get my Master's degree in Marine Biology at the College of Charleston. After I graduated, I moved to another state so my husband could take the job he wanted. I had a hard time finding a job in marine biology. After a few years, a job opened up in the lab I worked in while earning my Master's degree, and I have now been working here for 7 years.

What is your favorite part of your job?

This sounds super corny, but my favorite part of my job is knowing that I am making a difference. All my life I’ve always wanted to have a job where I would be helping animals in some way, and I know the research I do is helping protect many different fish species.

Also, I spend a lot of time doing lab work, so I have a lot of time to listen to podcasts!

Most exciting discovery?

My most exciting discovery each year is finding out just how much our stocking efforts are helping wild fish populations! Our population genetics team, which I’m a part of, works closely with the *mariculture team that raises and releases fish for species with low population numbers. By using a responsible stock enhancement approach, we can boost population sizes while also protecting the genetic health of wild fish. With genetics, we’re able to track whether fish caught in the wild came from our mariculture stocking—making it clear how our efforts are making a real difference.

*Mariculture is a special kind of aquaculture in which marine species are raised in a natural salt water environment. https://www.dnr.sc.gov/marine/mrri/aquaculture.html

Which of your skills contribute most to your work?

Organization and attention to detail. I deal with a lot of data on a lot of different projects. I have to make sure I keep everything well organized. It's also important to quickly find and fix any mistakes so they don't cause problems down the line.

What are the challenges you face in your position?

Luckily this hasn't been a problem during my time working here, but all of our projects are funded by grants. Sometimes it can be a challenge to keep up with applying for grants to make sure we have money to buy supplies and pay everyone's salary!

What are some cool pieces of technology that you use?

We recently bought an automated DNA isolation machine. We can load tissue samples into this "robot" along with the needed reagents, and it will isolate the DNA from the samples for us, up to 96 samples at a time. This has been a huge timesaver for our lab.

Also, in the past few years, we have started using environmental DNA, or eDNA, sampling. We do this by collecting water through a filter, which catches material animals shed into the water, like skin or poop. This allows us to know what animals are in the water without having to catch or even see them.

What’s the coolest thing you've gotten to experience on the job (touch, smell, see)?

Sometimes I get to go out into the field to collect samples for projects. While riding on boats, it's always fun to see what animals will come by. We often see dolphins in the estuaries, and sometimes even some sea turtles!

Do you work more in a lab, outside, or at a computer?

I mostly work in a lab and on a computer. I'd say about half of my time is spent processing samples in the lab and the other half analyzing the data on the computer and putting it into reports.

If you could swap jobs with another kind of scientist, who would it be?

I'd love to swap jobs with an astronomer. I'm mostly inside for my job dealing with small molecules of DNA I can't see until I get results I can see on a computer. I'd love to spend my time studying stars and planets, much larger things I can actually see.

What advice would you give to a kid who says “I’m not good at science”?

We all have things we feel like we're not good at. I don't think I'm good at writing. But I know it's an important part of my job, so I practice. I also take the time to write fun stuff in my free time. If you feel like you're not good at science, just keep practicing and find a part of science that seems fun to you and use that to practice your skills.

When did you know you wanted to be a scientist?

I've always been interested in animals and nature. As I learned more in school, this grew into a love of science in general. I don't know when I knew I wanted to be a "scientist," but I knew I would have a career in something science-y since elementary school.

Student Glossary

• DNA – The special code inside every living thing that tells it how to grow and work, like an instruction manual for life.

• Veterinarian – A doctor who takes care of animals when they are sick or hurt.

• Ecology – The study of how living things, like plants and animals, interact with each other and their environment.

• Marine Biology – The study of ocean life, like fish, dolphins, seaweed, and coral reefs.

• Population Genetics – The study of information in an organism’s DNA to learn about population characteristics, like geographic range, ability to adapt to changes, and size of breeding population.

• Mariculture – A type of farming where people raise fish, shellfish, or sea plants to eat or use.

• Grants – Money given to people or groups to help them do research, projects, or other important work.

• eDNA – Short for “environmental DNA.” It’s tiny pieces of DNA left behind in water, soil, or air that scientists can study to learn what animals or plants are around.

• Astronomer – A scientist who studies space, including stars, planets, and galaxies.