Emina KARALIC

Despite a medical background, I turned my strongest passion into a profession when I moved to Albania to dedicate myself full-time to research and conservation of threatened elasmobranchs, working across both field and laboratory settings. I have coordinated four regional projects, including those funded by MBZ and UNEP MAP, and contributed to nine others with National Geographic and the Explorers Club. These efforts have resulted in five peer-reviewed papers published in leading international journals such as Animal Conservation and the Journal of Fish Biology. I co-organized the first UNEP MAP Barcelona Convention regional training on elasmobranch monitoring and advanced research, and conducted multiple interactive workshops in Sri Lanka. In 2025, I was selected as a Fonseca Fellow. With extensive field experience in the Adriatic, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia, I currently coordinate laboratory examinations at Sharklab ADRIA, support rehabilitation and clinical work, and mentor international students through our internship program.