Biography

I am a marine biologist with research experience in a number of different environmental fields including fisheries sustainability, invasive species, marine pollution, and seaweed aquaculture. As an undergraduate, I studied Marine Science at Ulster University where I developed a passion for marine ecology and oceanographic processes. I then carried out my MSc and PhD research at the Marine Laboratory in Queen’s University Belfast (QML) where I have mostly been based since 2017. Since finishing my PhD, I worked as a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Oxford studying Polar systems before returning to QML as a seaweed aquaculture Research Assistant and now as a Research Fellow on the SeaFEED project.

SeaFEED Research

For the SeaFEED project, I will be mainly focusing on the aquaculture of a number of different brown seaweed species. Initially, I will be trying to establish cultures of our target species in our hatchery facility at Queen’s Marine Laboratory. I will then be researching and testing the optimal growing conditions for the brown seaweeds of interest both in the hatchery and also at our field test site in Strangford Lough. This part of the overall project will aim to provide the seaweed biomass for animal feeds.