Alexandra Chu is a graduate student in the Salmon Ecology Lab. Her research focuses on how factors across aquatic ecosystems influence growth, survival, and reproductive success in migratory salmon. Alexandra considers herself a "forensic fish biologist," working backwards from evidence left in fish tissues to reconstruct their dietary and habitat histories. Alexandra is studying thiamine deficiency complex in Chinook salmon. She uses the stable isotopes in eggs, eye lenses, and scales to reconstruct their diets and life histories. Currently, Alexandra analyzes archival scale samples to reconstruct the historical marine diet of California Chinook Salmon. By identifying changes in the stable isotope values over the past decade, Alexandra aims to identify patterns and early warning signals of thiamine deficiency. Her work leverages the past to understand the present, using long-term dietary changes to help forecast and mitigate future nutritional crises in salmon.