I am a fish ecologist and geneticist currently pursuing my PhD at the University of Vermont under the mentorship of Dr. Thaïs Bernos. My research is currently focused on Lake Champlain black bass population genomics.

Previously, I worked as a contractor for NOAA's Northwest Fisheries Science Center. From this role, I worked on a variety of projects within the lab and in the field, with study species that ranged from marine mammals to giant manta rays and anadromous fishes. A large portion of my work centered on supporting the eDNA initiatives of the Integrated West Coast Pelagics Survey.

I received my M.Sc. from Virginia Tech in 2023, where I studied the spawning behaviors of the bluehead chub and the greater leuciscid community in southwest Virginia. This work has been published in Ecology, Freshwater Biology, and Ecology of Freshwater Fish.

Betts, M. M., E. A. Hultin, E. M. Hallerman, E. G. Maurakis, and E. A. Frimpong. Embryonic selfish-herding blurs the line between brood parasitism and mutualism for communal-breeding stream fishes. Accepted at Ecology.

Betts, M. M., D. C. Haak, E. M. Hallerman, E. G. Maurakis, and E. A Frimpong. 2025. Mr. Mom: Nocomis embryo-burying effectively increases embryo survival amidst predation by all mutualism participants. Ecology of Freshwater Fish, 35(1). http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/eff.70035

Shelton, A. O., K. Nichols, K. M. Parsons, M. M. Betts, S. P. Engster, A. Ramón-Laca, M. Parsley, M. Shaffer, A. Wells. 2025. Developing an abundance index for pacific hake using environmental DNA (Appendix G in: Status of the Pacific Hake (whiting) stock in U.S. and Canadian waters in 2025). 286 p. https://rdrr.io/github/pacific-hake/hake-assessment/f/doc/151-appendix-eDNA-index.rmd

Betts, M. M., N. Abaid, E. G. Maurakis, and E. A. Frimpong. 2024. Bluehead chub Nocomis leptocephalus hosts exploit selfish-herd benefits from their heterospecific nest associates. Freshwater Biology, 69, 450–459. https://doi.org/10.1111/fwb.14224