She has received a B.A. in cultural anthropology from Smith College and a M.S. and Ph.D. in biological oceanography from the University of Rhode Island and Scripps Institution of Oceanography, respectively. Prior to arriving at ECU, Dr. Asch was a Postdoctoral Research Associate and Senior Nereus Fellow at Princeton University's Program in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences. In addition to her research on the phenology of fishes, Dr. Asch's past and current work has addressed topics as diverse as the effects of bottom fishing disturbance on benthic invertebrates, the spread of an invasive tunicate species, plastic ingestion by mesopelagic fishes, the influence of oceanic conditions on the spawning habitat of forage fishes, and climate change effects on spawning aggregations of reef fishes.