Yamilla Samara is not afraid to swim with the sharks. In fact, she\u2019s currently studying the diets of juvenile white sharks off the coast of Southern California as a graduate student at Cal State Long Beach. And this weekend, audiences across the country have a chance to see her at work.<\/p>\n
Samara, as well as her scientific undertakings, will be featured in a TV segment Saturday morning for a CBS show called Mission Unstoppable, hosted by i-Carly\u2019s and Despicable Me\u2019s Miranda Cosgrove.<\/p>\n
Born and raised in Managua, Nicaragua, Samara\u2019s love for sea life came at an early age. A lake in Nicaragua with access to the ocean was once teeming with bull sharks, but overfishing eventually drove the species to extinction at the lake. The tale always troubled Samara, which fueled her desire to study sharks.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s so much we don\u2019t know about them,\u201d Samara said.<\/p>\n
Samara moved to the United States in 2016 to study at the Florida International University. She enrolled as a graduate student at CSULB and completed her first year there this spring.<\/p>\n
Last summer, Mission Unstoppable\u2019s producers reached out to CSULB Shark Lab director and marine biology professor Chris Lowe to spotlight some of the women who work in scientific fields. Lowe suggested Samara as well as her classmate Emily Spurgeon.<\/p>\n
The crew followed Samara and Spurgeon on a research project off the coast of Santa Barbara. Samara is focusing on understanding the dietary habits of juvenile white sharks. To do this, she is implementing a technique that doesn\u2019t require opening the stomach of a dead shark\u2014as was the norm before, she says.<\/p>\n
\n\ud83e\udd88 Marine biologist @YamillaSamara<\/a> studies juvenile white #sharks<\/a> & how their diets may play a role in which beaches they're attracted to! @CSULBsharklab<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/5GrUsoHvIE<\/a><\/p>\n
— Mission Unstoppable (@CBSUnstoppable) May 13, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n