Associate Professor of Biology Featured in Marine Magazine

Dr. James Liao, a biomechanist and neuroscientist with the University of Florida’s Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience, investigates the way marine animals move in an unpredictable world. His studies into fish biomechanics provide insights useful for technology, engineering, and health.

“I’ve studied everything from coral reefs to marine mammals in pursuit of answers to questions about the role body shape, senses, and genetics play in their movement. The most exciting aspect of my career, though, has been learning to understand the world the way a fish might. It’s humbling how little we know about such common creatures. Answering seemingly insoluble questions about why fish swim the way they do could lead to surprising innovations: underwater technology inspired by their movement; aids and treatments for hearing and visually impaired people based on their senses; and structures, like dams and bridges, engineered with the fish in mind,” he said.

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