Mark Steele earned a B.A. degree in Ecology, Behavior, and Evolution from the University of California, San Diego in 1989 and a Ph.D. in Biology from UC Santa Barbara in 1995. He then spent 5 years at UCLA as a Postdoctoral Researcher and Lecturer and 2 years at University of Rhode Island as a Research Assistant Professor. In 2002, Dr. Steele joined the Marine Science Institute of UC Santa Barbara as a Research Biologist. He also holds an appointment as an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the in Department of Natural Resources Science at URI; and has been on the faculty of Northeastern University's East/West Marine Biology Program since 1998.