​Through learning to scuba dive at the age of eleven, I have had an interest in exploring and understanding the Ocean from a young age. My first taste of research was during the summer of 2011 where I volunteered as a research assistant at CIEE Research Station, Bonaire for Dr Fadilah Ali, focusing on the effects of invasive lionfish on the Caribbean. Keen to learn more about the natural and anthropogenic impacts on coral reef ecosystems, in 2014 I completed a Coral Reef Ecology Field Course led by Dr Mike Sweet at Korallionlab Marine Research Station in the Maldives. Furthermore, in 2015, I completed a Marine Diving Conservation Internship, with CORE Sea, Thailand.
During my BS.c (Hons) degree in Marine & Freshwater Biology at Aberystwyth University, I developed a strong interest in climate change ecology, and volunteered as a Research Assistant with Dr Pippa Moore, focusing on the EuroNADS project, scoring limpet reproductive states from across Europe and through time to look at the impacts of climate change on limpet phenology. For my undergraduate thesis, I developed thermal performance curves for a range of temperate macroalgal species under current and predicted temperatures for the UK.

I first came to KAUST following my graduation in 2016 as an VSRP intern. My internship with Professor Carlos Duarte involved investigating the metabolism of tropical marine habitats within the Red Sea, which included coral, macroalgae and seagrass species.

Coming from a strong ecological background, and being led by curiosity, I decided to take the next step in developing new skills in marine genomics. For my masterís project, I will be undergoing 16S bacterial community profiling on two host-endosymbiont combinations of the coral-model organism Aiptasia which has been subjected to different salinity and thermal conditions. By interpreting microbial patterns in this organism, it is hoped to create a greater understanding of the effects of climate change on coral holobionts.