About

About

I am an eco-physiologist interested in seeing how organisms respond to differing environmental settings.  My goal is to help sustain future marine based food supplies whilst ensuring economic & environmental sustainability. The work I conduct is highly multi-disciplinary & to the benefit of my research I have worked across across both industry & academia within the fields of aquaculture, climate change and plastic pollution. I’m currently based in the University of Rhode Island’s College of Environment & Life Sciences within the Department of Fisheries, Aquaculture & Veterinary Science where I’m conducing research and teaching. Below is a brief CV outline to exemplify my recent activities.

Education:

  • PhD Earth Sciences (2013) – University of Cambridge, UK
  • MSc Marine Biology with Distinction (2002 – 2003)  – Bangor University, UK
  • BSc Marine Biology with Oceanography (1999 – 2002) – Bangor University, UK

 

Employment history:

  • Assistant Professor in Sustainable Aquaculture -Fisheries, Animal & Veterinary Sciences, University of Rhode Island, USA (2018 – present)
  • Lecturer in Marine Biology – School of Ocean Sciences, Bangor University, UK (2016 – 2018)
  • Teaching & Learning Support – School of Ocean Sciences, Bangor University, UK (2015 – 2016)
  • Post Doctorate Researcher – School of Biological Sciences, Bangor University, UK (2012 – 2015) – NERC Standard Grant No. NE/J007544/1
  • PhD Student – British Antarctic Survey & Cambridge University, UK (2008 – 2012)
  • Support Scientist – Scottish Association for Marine Science, UK (2005 – 2008) – Project SPIINES2
  • Hyperbaric Chamber Attendant – SAMS Diving Centre, UK (2007 – 2008)
  • Benthic Macro Fauna Processor – Hebog Environment, Menai Technology, UK (2004)
  • Aquaculture Technician – Indian Ocean Aquaculture, Mozambique (2003 – 2004)
  • Research Technician – Bangor University, Centre of Arid Zone Studies, UK (2002 – 2003)

 

Current & recent funding:

  • URI Proposal Development Grant – Lead PI – “Developing Green Sea Urchin production within Rhode Island” – $19,665 – 07/2022-06/2023.
  • National Shellfish Association – Advisor – “Addressing the challenges which prevent sustainable growth of the threatened green sea urchin industry” – $1,500 – 02/2022-01/2023.
  • Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (Co-Advisor, led by Sílvia Lourenço, Portugal) $75,155 “Environmental response and transgenerational effects of ocean warming and nutrition on edible sea urchins: Implications for harvesting and aquaculture” 03/2022-02/2025.
  • Enhancement of Graduate Research Awards – Advisor – “Advancing sustainable growth of the threatened green sea urchin industry” – $1,000 – 02/2022-01/2023.
  • Maine Sea Grant Project Development Fund – Lead PI – “Addressing the challenges which prevent sustainable growth of the threatened green sea urchin industry” – $5,000 – 12/2021-11/2022.
  • Rhode Island School of Design Professional Development Fund (Consultant, led by Anastasiia Raina) $5,000 “Circular urchin economies for viable futures” 2021.
  • Blount Shellfish Restoration (Advisor) $4,476 “Oyster responses to warming after ingestion of microplastics” 2021-2022.
  • Rhode Island Water Resources Center (Co-PI) $65,298 “Systematic assessment of plastic waste in freshwater systems within Rhode Island” 2021.
  • Northeastern Aquaculture Research Center, USDA (Lead-PI) $100,000 “Expanding green sea urchin production by removing key aquaculture challenges”. 2020-2022.
  • Biological Sciences Undergraduate Research (Advisor) $575 “Enhancing our understanding on how sea urchins actively remove microplastics from their body”. 2020.
  • Sea Grant (Co-PI) $441,161. “Are microplastics a vector for organic pollutants and disease in marine food webs?”. 2020-2021.
  • URI2 Project Fund (Advisor) $1,400. “Histology of the Gonad Tissues of a Commercially Relevant Sea Urchin: Arbacia punctulata”. 2020.
  • Rhode Island Science & Technology Advisory Council $80,000 (Lead-PI) “A species-specific approach to enhance models for planktivorous fishes”. 2020-2021.
  • Rhode Island Science & Technology Advisory Council $79,891 (Co-PI) “Establishing the spatial and temporal distribution of microplastics within Narragansett Bay.” 2020-2021.
  • URI2 Project Fund (Advisor) $1,000. “Establishing the effect of differing food treatments on the energy budget of commercially relevant sea urchins”. 2019-2020.
  • RI C-AIM (EPSCoR, NSF) Seed Grant (Lead-PI) $25,000. “Addressing predictive modeling knowledge gaps to improve information used in decision making”. 2018-2019.
  • USDA RIAES Hatch (Co-I, led by Gomez-Chiarri) $4,300,000. “From Genomes to Farms:  Novel tools for managing the impact of climate change on food production”. 2018-2023.

 

Recent invited presentations:

  • ‘Plastic Pollution in Narragansett Bay’. Coastal State Discussion Series (Hosted by RI Sea Grant). Apr. 2022.
  • ‘Determining whether microplastics impact marine organisms’. RI-INBRE Virtual Northeast Regional IDEA Conference (Session organizers JP Walsh (URI) & Cody Sharpe (RWU)). Aug. 2021.
  • ‘Working towards sustainability’, Rhode Island School of Design (Host Anastasiia Taina). Mar. 2021.
  • ‘Sustainable aquaculture and anthropogenic pressure: A story of fish sea urchins and integration’, Brown University (Host Gary Wessel). Mar. 2021.
  • ‘Addressing predictive modeling knowledge gaps to improve information used in decision-making.’ – Rhode Island Marine Fisheries Institute, USA – May 2019.
  • ‘A slow-growing perspective on multi-generational responses to future change.’ – Honorarium Seminar Speaker,Werth Center for Coastal and Marine Studies, Southern Connecticut University, USA – Mar. 2019.
  • ‘A slow-growing perspective on multi-generational responses to future change.’ – Physiomar, University of Cambridge, UK – Sept. 2017.
  • ‘A meta-analysis of integrated multi-trophic aquaculture: extractive species growth is most successful within close proximity to open-water fish farms.’ – 7th International Oyster Symposium, Bangor University, Wales, UK – Sept. 2017.
  • ‘Use of mesocosms in climate change research’ – Global change in coastal marine ecosystems: science, policy, and sustainable development Workshop, Santos, Brazil (2015).

 

Recent conference presentations:

  • ‘Expanding green sea urchin production by removing key aquaculture challenges’. Northeast Regional Aquaculture Conference and Exhibition. Oral. Apr. 2022.
  • ‘Expanding green sea urchin production by removing key aquaculture challenges’. American Aquaculture Conference. Oral. Mar. 2022.
  • ‘Expanding green sea urchin production by removing key aquaculture challenges’. National Shellfish Association Virtual Conference. Oral. Mar./Apr. 2021.
  • ‘The impacts of microplastics on a largely overlooked marine invertebrate – the sea urchin’. National Shellfish Association Virtual Conference. Oral. Mar./Apr. 2021.
  • ‘A slow growing perspective on multi-generational responses to future change’. National Shellfish Association Virtual Conference. Oral. Mar./Apr. 2021.
  • ‘The impacts of microplastics on a largely overlooked marine invertebrate – the sea urchin’. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, USA – Oct. 2019.
  • ‘A slow growing perspective on multi-generational responses to future change.’ North East Aquaculture Conference, USA – Jan. 2019.
  • ‘A slow growing perspective on multi-generational responses to future change.’ World Conference on Marine Biodiversity (WCMB), Montreal, Canada – May 2018.
  • ‘Metabolic responses of two species of brachyuran crustaceans to multiple-stressors’. World Conference on Marine Biodiversity (WCMB), Montreal, Canada – May 2018.

 

Peer review activities:

  • Reviewer of manuscripts for > 20 journals, e.g. Biology Letters, Geophysical Research Letters, Global Change Biology, Marine Environmental Research, Frontiers in Marine Science, Nutrients, PLOS ONE, Polar Biology, & Science of the Total Environment.
  • Reviewer of IPCC Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) Second Order Draft of the Working Group I – Chapter 10: Linking global to regional climate change. Training March 2020, Reviewing, May 2020.
  • Grant reviewer for the National Science Foundation, British Ecological Society (Grants Committee member & Peer Review College member (2013-2019)), French National Agency for Research, NOAA Sea Grant , Research Grants Council of Hong Kong & the USDA Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education.
  • Academic Teaching Reviewer for the Higher Education Academy (2016-2019).

 

Recent outreach:

 

Teaching & supervision:

  • Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.
  • Winner of the ‘Open’ Category for the Student Led Teaching Awards (2015) & nominated for ‘Best Feedback’ (2016).
  • Supervised a large number of undergraduate & postgraduate students since 2010.
  • Teach undergraduates & graduates across AFS425 Aquaculture & the Environment (3c), AFS488G Marine Plastic Pollution (3c with lab), AFS291 Research Skills (1c lab), BES600 Graduate Seminar Series (1c).
  • Research led teaching: In summary, I have supervised 23 summer interns, >50 undergraduate projects, 14 MS project students, 4 PhD students, & 9 International placement students (e.g. Global Approach by Modular Experiments with Kiel University) across a broad range of topics including climate change, micro-plastic pollution, aquaculture methodology & polar science. Projects are a mix of desk-based studies & applied projects utilizing laboratory & aquarium facilities on a range of organisms including fish, decapod crustaceans, echinoderms & mollusks.

 

Council & professional membership:

Council membership

  • Senior Fellow of the Coastal Institute (Since 2021).
  • BES (British Ecological Society) Grants Committee Member (2014-2019).
  • SCAR (Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research) Ocean Acidification Action Group member (2013+).
  • APECS (Association of Polar Early Career Scientists) Representative for the SCAR (Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research) Antarctic Thresholds – Ecosystem Resilience & Adaptation group (AnT-ERA).
  • Co-convener for the Session ‘Ocean Acidification’, XXXII SCAR Open Science (Oregon, USA, July 2012) with Richard Bellerby & James Orr.
  • UK Polar Network, British Branch of the Association of Polar Early Career Scientists, Secretary (2012-2013), Workshops & Events (2011-2012).

Professional membership

British Ecological Society, National Shellfish Association, Ocean Acidification Information Exchange, Royal Society of Biology, Society for Experimental Biology, World Aquaculture Society.

 

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