Summary
Simon Dedman is a postdoctoral researcher specializing in shark, tuna and broader elasmobranch ecology, bringing 11 years of interdisciplinary experience in spatial modelling, big-data machine learning (notably Boosted Regression Trees) and fisheries management. Based at Florida International University after a Stanford postdoc, he co-led a Science paper on the ecological roles of sharks and coordinates large collaborative analyses of Global FinPrint BRUVs using hierarchical Bayesian and machine-learning approaches. He is an active developer of open tools—authoring the gbm.auto R package for automated BRT species distribution models and co-leading development of movegroup for group-level movement analysis—which accelerates reproducible ecological workflow. His background spans field tagging and lab work to policy-facing roles (UK Quota Manager) and program management, giving him rare fluency across data, deployment and management contexts. Simon frequently mentors students and convenes international workshops, and he combines that collaborative leadership with a practical knack for building pipelines that turn raw tag and survey data into actionable ecological insights. Based in San Carlos, California, he also contributes to conservation NGOs and maintains memberships across major elasmobranch societies, reflecting a commitment to applied science and policy impact.
11 years of coding experience
10 years of employment as a software developer
MRes, Marine & Fisheries Science, MRes, Marine & Fisheries Science at University of Aberdeen
Postdoctoral Researcher, Ecological Role of Sharks, Postdoctoral Researcher, Ecological Role of Sharks at Florida International University
GCSE, A-levels, Biology, Geography, Maths, Spanish, GCSE, A-levels, Biology, Geography, Maths, Spanish at Hampton School
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Spatial management modelling elasmobranch fisheries Irish Sea, Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Spatial management modelling elasmobranch fisheries Irish Sea at Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology
BSc (Hons), Oceanography with Marine Biology, BSc (Hons), Oceanography with Marine Biology at University of Southampton
Postdoctoral Researcher, Tuna movement, stock management, data science, Postdoctoral Researcher, Tuna movement, stock management, data science at Stanford University
Spanish, French