KINGSTON, R.I. – May 14, 2025 – University of Rhode Island graduating senior Lindsey Reimels, a marine biology major and whale researcher, has been awarded a prestigious National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship for 2025.

The NSF’s Graduate Research Fellowship Program recognizes and supports outstanding students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines pursuing research-based advanced degrees in the United States. Fellows receive an annual stipend, and funding for tuition and fees, worth $159,000 over three years.

The National Science Foundation instituted the Graduate Research Fellowship in 1952, with the goal of encouraging scientific research and ensuring comprehensive research programs for students in the U.S. Since then, the NSF has funded more than 46,500 fellowships. Many former graduate fellows have gone on to become Nobel laureates and members of the National Academy of Sciences.

Reimels plans to use her National Science Foundation fellowship at Old Dominion University in Virginia to pursue a Ph.D. in ecological sciences starting this fall. Specifically, she plans to dive deeper into the relationship between baleen whales and microplastics—a topic she has spent her last two years studying at URI.

Found the world over, baleen whales include several well-known species of whale, including the epic blue whale, the largest known animal to have ever existed. Several, such as humpbacks and the North Atlantic right whale, also swim in New England waters.

Post-mortem examinations of baleen whales indicate that whales are ingesting microplastics. With this fellowship, Reimels hopes to study what they are ingesting, the impact, and how consumption is taking place across species.

“The hope is that these discoveries can help support marine mammal protection and plastic pollution mitigation,” she says.

Ocean State start

Growing up in the Ocean State and spending her summers at the beach influenced her choice of study, Reimels says.

“I was exposed to plastic pollution at a very young age and have always found it concerning,” she says. But for the Tiverton resident, going to URI was an easy choice.

“As soon as I got my acceptance letter to URI, I knew I wanted to go,” she recalls. “As a native Rhode Islander, I knew that URI had standout attributes such as the Narragansett Bay Campus and the R/V Endeavor, Professor Robert Ballard (who discovered the Titanic), and ties to sustainable aquaculture with Matunuck Oyster Bar. I had no idea where the marine bio program would take me, but I was excited to find out.”

At URI, Reimels, advised by marine biologist Professor Andrew Davies, began her study of the ocean in earnest. In her sophomore year, Reimels found Associate Professor Coleen Suckling’s “Echinonerd” Lab and started working with then-graduate student Sarah Davis Ph.D. ’24, on research funded by Rhode Island Sea Grant, examining the impacts of microplastic pollution on Rhode Island waterways, focusing on the transfer of microplastics to Eastern oysters and Jonah crabs, which ingest them while feeding in the bay. A paper they wrote together is now in process and Reimels will be listed as second author.

“I really enjoyed the tediousness and detail-oriented nature of working in a microplastics lab, and loved working with live animals,” Reimels comments. “The more I learned about microplastics, the more questions I developed.”

This eventually led her to working on her own independent research project studying the relationship between microplastics and baleen whales.

In addition to her studies, Reimels also played club field hockey and has been active as a mentor at URI. This past year, she worked closely with Associate Teaching Professor Niels-Viggo Hobbs as the marine biology program mentor, describing it as one of her favorite experiences at URI. She enjoyed supporting undergraduate students in the marine biology program, helping them use URI’s resources to achieve their goals and prepare for their future careers.

“It is truly rewarding to help give back to this incredible program that has given me so many opportunities and put me on track to achieving my goals,” she says. “Without these opportunities and my mentor’s support, this would not have been possible. Being able to learn how to conduct research and work through the trials and tribulations that come with it as an undergraduate has been invaluable. It was a key factor in deciding I wanted to apply for the National Science Foundation’s GRFP and continue to do research in graduate school.”

As she advances to the next step in her career, she’ll miss Rhode Island but is looking forward to seeing where her academic career now takes her.

“I want to use my research to contribute to plastic pollution mitigation and marine mammal conservation,” Reimels says. “Both causes are important to me, and being able to continue studying them is a dream come true.”

Three URI students also received Graduate Research Fellowship Program Honorable Mentions this year: senior Elise VanLuinen, who has started a position with the Dana Farber Cancer Institute conducting melanoma therapy research, and graduate students Reese Kober in the Graduate School of Oceanography and Benjamin Charo in URI’s biological and environmental sciences Ph.D. program.

For more information about the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program, or other fellowship opportunities or applications, visit or contact URI’s Office of National Fellowships & Academic Opportunities.