Holley Muraco

Holley Muraco is an Assistant Research Professor in the Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences at Mississippi State University, stationed at the Coastal Research and Extension Center. She is also a scientist with the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station (MAFES), where her work centers on Coastal One Health—an interdisciplinary approach to improving the well-being of coastal ecosystems, wildlife, and human communities.

Her research interests include marine biology, animal physiology, and reproductive biology, with a focus on marine mammals such as walruses and dolphins. She has conducted extensive fieldwork in Alaska, Bermuda, the Netherlands, South China, and California. Her background combines academic research with hands-on experience as a zookeeper and animal trainer at Walt Disney World, where she helped launch the dolphin swim program at Discovery Cove.

Muraco earned her Ph.D. in Animal Physiology from Mississippi State University in 2015, following a bachelor's degree from the same institution in 1998. Her nontraditional academic path included working as an animal reproduction consultant for zoos and aquariums during her doctoral studies.

She has been featured in a BBC documentary on walruses, conducting two years of fieldwork on St. Lawrence Island and with subsistence hunters in Wales, Alaska. Her work bridges science and community engagement, particularly with the Eskimo Walrus Commission and Inuit populations.

Although no formal students or publications are listed, she emphasizes mentoring and inspiring the next generation of marine biologists. She aims to build a lasting legacy at MSU by creating opportunities for students in coastal and marine sciences.

Her lab and research team operate through the Coastal Research and Extension Center, focusing on interdisciplinary, field-based studies that connect wildlife health with environmental and human factors in coastal regions.