Conservation 'Omics Lab
Dr. Lauren Howe-Kerr (Minderoo Foundation)
Lauren conducted her PhD in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Rice University (Houston, TX, USA) in the lab of Dr. Adrienne Correa. Her dissertation broadly examined how the microbes that reside inside of corals (including bacteria, dinoflagellates, and viruses) impact coral health and coral responses to changing ocean conditions. This work focused on reefs at the Mo’orea Long Term Ecological Research Site (South Pacific) and the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary (Gulf of Mexico). After her PhD, Lauren worked at the U.S. National Science Foundation, pursuing her interest in ocean and climate policy as a 2022 Knauss Marine Policy Fellow. Lauren’s current research is focused on identifying genomic metrics that can help characterize reef resistance to climate change and support global conservation efforts.
Teresa Nobre (PhD, Minderoo/UWA)
Teresa comes from Lisbon, Portugal. She holds a BSc (Hons) in Marine Biology from the University of Plymouth (UK) and an MSc in Aquatic Tropical Ecology from the Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT) and Universität Bremen (Germany). Through the years she has studied Symbiodiniaceae functional diversity, heavy metal pollution in seagrass and coastal sediment, and the interplay between species metabolism, competition, and community functioning using phytoplankton. After working as a research technician with the Functional Ecology group at the Gulbenkian Institute of Science in Portugal, she moved to Perth where she is now pursuing a PhD in coral molecular ecology. Her project focusses on the potential of selective breeding to enhance coral heat tolerance by crossing colonies from sites with markedly different temperature profiles. For this she gets to work in the beautiful World Heritage Sites of Shark Bay and Ningaloo Reef. To indulge her soft spot for algal endosymbionts (the unsung heroes of the reef!) she is also mapping the currently unknown Symbiodiniaceae community composition along those regions.
Alex Macadam (PhD, AIMS@JCU)
Alex grew up in Devon, UK, where he spent his weekends at the beach searching for critters in the inter-tidal pools. As soon as he was old enough, Alex took the opportunity to learn to dive. This is where his fascination with coral reefs began. Alex perused a Bachelors (Hon) degree in Marine Biology at Swansea University and continued on to a Masters by Research. After graduating, Alex spent a year travelling, before securing a job as Research Coordinator at a research station in Norway. After several years in the Arctic, Alex was drawn back to the reef. He has recently been working at the Australian Institute of Marine Science under several roles, including Experimental Research Technician with Kate on the Assisted Gene Flow project and Field and Lab Technician with the Water Quality team. Now, Alex is continuing his research journey by pursuing a PhD examining genomic predictions of heat tolerance in selectively bred corals.
Alex's research interests include coral reproduction and thermal tolerance in early life stages of corals. His PhD aims to assess the use of “Assisted gene flow” to enhance heat tolerance of multiple coral genera across the Great Barrier Reef by assessing three key phenotypic traits (survival, growth, bleaching) by using both tank experiments and deploying corals onto the reef. Using these offspring, he will aim to identify the key underlying genomic and transcriptomic drivers underpinning phenotypic trait variation in inter and intra- population offspring.
Emily Washington (PhD, JCU)
Alexandra Kler Lago (MSc, Minderoo/ Uni Bremen, Germany)
Alexandra’s love for the marine world emerged when she traveled to the Galapagos and found herself spending more time with the fish than with her travel companions. She then went on to pursue a BSc in Marine Biology at James Cook University and since then has been working in research and conservation across very different marine environments, from Patagonia to Mozambique.
Currently, she is an MSc student at the University of Bremen in Germany, majoring in Marine Biology. Although far from the familiar tropical waters, her focus remains on understanding coral adaptation and restoration.
She embarked on her thesis project with Dr. Quigley and the support of the Minderoo Foundation at the Minderoo Exmouth Research Laboratory. Her investigation delves into the potential of assisted gene flow for Acropora species, specifically examining the selectively-bred larval response to heat stress along the Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia. She is super happy to be part of this first-time effort to cross-breed Ningaloo corals. Stay tuned for her latest updates on this project by following her on @AlexandraKler
Kristy Brown (PhD, Minderoo/UWA)
Kristy comes from west Australia’s south coast. Her youth spent snorkelling in the pristine waters of Bremer Bay sparked a love of the ocean. She holds a BSc in Marine Biology from James Cook University, Townsville, and an Honours in Marine and Antarctic Science from The University of Tasmania, Hobart. She has worked across areas including turtle migration and spatial habitat mapping, sediment accumulation on turtle nesting beaches, and baited remote video analysis in temperate and tropical regions, shallow to mesophotic zones. Prior to marine biology, Kristy was a school teacher, working across Australia and London, teaching physical education, outdoor education, and science. Since studying marine biology, she has merged education and science as a Project Leader for Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders in Marine Science in north Queensland and with She Maps, taking drones to remote communities across Australia to teach kids to fly. Her recent role was as science and education project officer with consultancy Sea Country Solutions, working within a team to reform recreational fisheries on Cocos (Keeling) Island. During her with the Cocos (Keeling) community, Kristy became interested in seagrass habitats for their ecological and socio-economic importance. She is now happy to be based in Perth pursuing a PhD in seagrass physiology across Ningaloo and Shark Bay World Heritage Areas. She is especially interested in identifying aspects of resilience in seagrasses to cumulative stressors across their full lifecycle.
Sydney Bell (PhD, JCU)
Sydney grew up in Perry, NY (nowhere near the ocean). Childhood trips to beaches and aquariums, as well as constantly being outdoors, inspired her love for marine biology from an early age. During her undergraduate career at Stony Brook University, Sydney became interested in coral ecology through internships at Mote Marine Laboratory’s Elizabeth Moore International Center for Coral Reef Research and Restoration and the Central Caribbean Marine Institute. More recently, Sydney graduated with an MS in Biological Sciences from Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, Florida Atlantic University. As part of Florida’s largest coral restoration experiment to date, Sydney used high-resolution 2bRAD and ITS2 sequencing to genotype the corals and characterize their algal symbiont communities for a state-wide collaborative project. Her background also includes work in sea turtle and seal rehabilitation, ocean acidification, and scientific/safety diving. Outside of the lab, Sydney has merged art and science into a sustainable ocean apparel company (SLB Art Co) and the To Dive For Podcast, focused on making the intersection between diving and marine science accessible through the amplification of the diverse voices of those who live it firsthand. She is excited to be pursuing her PhD in Townsville working on understanding and characterizing free-living Symbiodiniaceae communities from a range of World Heritage sites using bioinformatics and exploring their impacts on coral fitness when introduced to the host. This project will combine scientific diving, coral spawning, genomics, and algal symbiont culturing!
Anamaria Muniz (MSc, JCU)
Lindsey Kraemer (MSc, JCU/Minderoo)
Olivia Smailes (MSc, JCU)
Olivia is a Master of Science student, majoring in Fisheries Science and management. Since her commencing her masters degree, Olivia has become particularly interested in how science communication can break the disconnect that exists between scientists and the public and its use as a tool to change human behaviour. This interest is supported the academic experience she gained throughout her science degrees and her background in graphic design. Looking to the future, Olivia hopes to increase engagement in marine science through the intersection of art and research. At present, she manages the social media for Women in Ocean Science, a non-profit aimed at empowering and elevating the voices of female marine scientists. Most recently, as part of her final semester Olivia undertook a scic omm-focused placement with Kate at the Minderoo Exmouth Research lab (MERL). You can find more information about this below!
Minderoo Exmouth Research Lab (MERL) science communication project
Lab Alumni:
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Jo Nielsen (PhD, AIMS@JCU)
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Luke Morris (PhD, AIMS@JCU)
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Ponchanok Weeriyunan (MSc, Ghent Uni/IMBRSea)
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Carys Morgans (MSc, AIMS@JCU)
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Alyx Terrell (MSc, AIMS@JCU)
As part of Olivia's placement with Minderoo Exmouth Research Lab (MERL) and James Cook University, she produced an education-focused science communication package. The aim of this package was to highlight the significance of the Ningaloo coast and to raise awareness about the lab's core research priorities: identify, monitor, and protect. Below you can enjoy the posters Olivia created during her placement. If you want to learn more about the research which supported this project, click on each poster to view the relevant bibliography!
