Dr. Jason Bruck is a tenured Associate Professor of Biology at Stephen F. Austin State University, a founding board member of the Marine Mammal Research Network, and a scientist member of the Alliance of Marine Mammal Parks and Aquariums. His research focuses on cetacean communication, chemoreception, cognition, conservation and welfare. Dr. Bruck got his start doing research with professionally managed cetaceans in 2007 as part of his Ph.D. training at the University of Chicago. He has since gone on to work on dolphin projects in the wild aboard a modified 25-foot cetacean research vessel named the Iwa Bailey as well as at an additional thirteen accredited facilities, with studies investigating multidecade social memory, representational understanding of signature whistles and individual recognition of urine cues by taste alone. His current projects involve studying noise impacts on marine mammals, beluga bioacoustics, dolphin kin recognition and experimental drone development related to wild small cetacean health assessments. His research has been highlighted in National Geographic, The Washington Post, BBC, NPR, Salon, and The Atlantic, among others.

Dr. Bruck is honored to join Marineland Florida in this capacity, citing the amazing legacy of research done at the facility by previous directors. In addition to his research, he is an educator with over 20 years of experience in primary, secondary, and higher education. He is the 2021 National Association of Biology Teachers (NABT) Four-Year College & University Award winner for Excellence in Biology Instruction and the 2022 Society of College Science Teachers (SCST) Outstanding Undergraduate Science Teacher Award winner.