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Ixel Medrano

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Hola!

I’m environmental data scientist with a background in ecology and evolution, using data to better understand and care for the natural world. I enjoy building tools and workflows that make ecological data more accessible and useful for research, conservationist, and decision-making.

I’m especially interested in human-wildlife interactions, and supporting environmental and cultural preservation through accessible, data-driven tools. I value creative, cross-disciplinary collaboration, and inclusive approaches to data science.


  • Education
  • Research & Professional Experience

Master, Environmetal Data Science (Expected June 2026) | Bren School of Environmental Science & Management | University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB)

Bachelor of Science, Ecology and Evolution (June 2025) | University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), Santa Barbara CA | Minor: Remote Sensing

Turning Data into Action. An R Package for the Western Wildfire Resilience Index (WWRI) |Master’s Capstone (Current) | Collaborators: National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS)

Conservation genomics of the endangered southern river otter Lontra provocax in the Valdivian coastal reserve, Chile |Center for Conservation Genomics (CCG) Intern (June 2024 – June 2025) |Smithsonian’s National Zoological Park & Conservation Biology Institute (SNZPCBI), Washington, D.C | Advisor: Jesús E. Maldonado, Lillian D. Parker, & Susette Castañeda-Rico

Undergraduate Research Assistant for the Young Lab |Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology, UCSB (March 2023 - June 2025) | Advisor: Dr. Hillary Young

How Human Activity Along The California Coast Impacts The Presence of Large Animals |McNair Scholars program Summer research project (2023) | Dr. Hillary Young

© 2025 Ixel Medrano

 

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