Eli participated in the 2024 Research Internships in Ocean Sciences (RIOS) summer internship program while completing a bachelor’s degree in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at University of California, Santa Cruz. He researched morphometric differences between the Atlantic surfclam Spisula solidissima solidissima and the southern subspecies Spisula solidissima similis. He is currently studying urban conservation issues such as the pattern of bird-window collisions across the California bay area.