CV / Resume
Malia Yalisove
Berkeley, California · maliay04@berkeley.edu
Education
University of California, Berkeley · Spring 2027
Bachelor of Arts, Marine Science · College of Letters and Sciences. Bachelor of Arts, Integrative Biology · College of Letters and Sciences. Coursework: Earth and Planetary Sciences, Environmental Science, Biology, and Physical Sciences. Mo’orea Island Sustainability Program, French Polynesia, spring 2025.
Research experience
Correa Lab, UC Berkeley · Undergraduate Researcher · April 2025–present
UC Berkeley Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management.
Performing DNA extractions from fish fin clippings, PCR amplification, and sequencing library preparation to identify and analyze the genomes of difficult-to-identify specimens. Assisting with data analysis using multiple databases and bioinformatics pipelines, and generating figures for analysis.
Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History · Research Intern · Summers 2025 & 2026
Department of Invertebrate Zoology · Washington, DC.
Created shallow shotgun DNA sequencing libraries for hundreds of marine organism samples, including invertebrates, fishes, and algae, collected from Mo’orea, French Polynesia. Used MEGAHIT to create metagenomes and MitoFinder to create mitogenomes from shotgun sequencing data. Used DADA2 and Phyloseq to investigate phylosymbiosis patterns between coral hosts and bacterial communities. Performed 16S, COI, and 18S amplicon metabarcoding on 500+ sessile invertebrate tissue samples from Mo’orea.
Scientific illustration
Martin Lab, UC Berkeley · Undergraduate Scientific Illustrator · January 2026–present
UC Berkeley Department of Integrative Biology. Producing high-quality, original scientific illustrations for lab members’ use in publications.
Leadership
University of California Marching Band · August 2023–present
Directors’ Assistant (2024), Game Day Operations Manager (2025), and Senior Manager (2026). Leading an executive team of 5 students and 1 full-time employee to manage and grow a 260+ member organization. Working with University staff to manage a $1M+ annual budget and coordinate hundreds of annual expenses. Leading a committee of 6 students to manage band logistics, including football games, away trips, traditions, and rehearsals. Planning a 3-day, 270+ person offsite training program, coordinating with campus officials and law enforcement.
Technical skills
Laboratory, fieldwork & analysis
DNA extraction, PCR amplification, shallow shotgun DNA and 16S amplicon sequencing library preparation. Fieldwork includes plankton towing, quadrat sampling, and eDNA collection and filtration in Mo’orea, French Polynesia. Proficient with R and the Linux command line; experienced in data visualization using R and Adobe Illustrator, and bioinformatics pipelines and packages including MEGAHIT, DADA2, and Phyloseq. SSI Open Water Certification (2025).
Art media
Pen and ink, watercolor, graphite, gouache, colored pencil, marker, and digital editing in Adobe Photoshop.