Kristina is an MS student in the Marine Biology program at Scripps. She completed her undergraduate degree at the University of California Santa Cruz, where she conducted research on arm use in the defensive behaviors of Octopus bimaculatus, aerial intertidal habitat survey methods, and sea star abundance at Hopkins Marine Station.

Between degree programs, she worked in the Marine Invasions Lab at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC). Based in Edgewater, MD, she carried out various surveys related to local nearshore communities, as well as non-indigenous species in highly-trafficked bays and estuaries across North America.

As part of the Décima Lab, Kristina has returned to cephalopod research, this time through a trophic ecology lens, focusing on deep-sea species such as glass squids and their role in pelagic food webs. She also works in the Scripps Pelagic Invertebrate Collection (SIO-PIC).

In her free time, you can find her poking around tidepools, hiking, running, snorkeling, or SCUBA diving. She also enjoys painting and playing with her two cats.