WILLEMSTAD – The Pew Charitable Trusts has awarded Kristen Marhaver, associate scientist at the CARMABI Foundation, a Pew Fellowship in Marine Conservation. As one of only six experts recognized in 2025, Marhaver will receive a $150,000, three-year fellowship to develop new techniques for human-assisted coral breeding in Curaçao.
Originally from the United States, Marhaver earned her doctorate in marine biology at the UC San Diego Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Her passion for marine life began in childhood when she first discovered scuba diving and became fascinated by the tiny creatures of the ocean.
With her Pew Marine Fellowship, Marhaver plans to develop and test advanced methods for fertilizing coral eggs in laboratory settings. Drawing on techniques from wildlife conservation and human reproductive sciences, her research aims to make coral breeding more consistent and scalable. The ultimate goal is to use coral gene banks to boost restoration efforts for endangered coral species.
“I’m hopeful that we can make coral fertilization much more consistent and reliable, even for the trickiest species,” Marhaver said. “Not only will that make coral breeding more accessible for more teams, locations, and species, but it will also make gene-banked coral samples such as cryopreserved sperm even more valuable in the future. We can do so much now to set up future generations of conservationists for success. We may not be here to see big, epic recovery, but we will have been a part of it.”
Marhaver’s recognition is part of the Pew Fellows Program in Marine Conservation, which supports mid-career scientists and conservation experts working on innovative solutions to protect the world’s oceans. Since its inception, the program has supported more than 200 fellows from 44 countries. Fellows are selected through a rigorous nomination and review process by an international committee of marine science experts.
The Pew Charitable Trusts, a nonpartisan and non-governmental organization, aims to address global challenges through research, collaboration, and transformative projects. The Pew Marine Fellows Program plays a vital role in advancing marine conservation by funding groundbreaking research and fostering a network of leading experts dedicated to ocean sustainability.