My research is primarily focused on the molecular and microbial ecology of marine phototrophs (e.g. seagrass, corals, bivalves), and particularly how seagrass meadows protect other coastal ecosystems.
We found that seagrass ecosystems remove pathogens from the seawater and consequently prevent diseases on nearby coral reefs (Lamb et al. 2017 ). This sparked my interest to further investigate health-boosting ‘ecosystem services’ as Nature-based Solutions that protect ocean and human health, and how we can restore protective ecosystem services for a sustainable use of ocean resources.
Macro-organisms interact continuously with microbes. This is particularly the case for filter-feeding marine animals, like corals and bivalves. They may predate on microbes, but also engage in symbioses with microbes that provide benefits (nutrition, defense), or encounter disease-causing pathogens. I aim to understand the function of the many different microbes within a holobiont (i.e. macro-organism with its symbionts) and how they affect organismal health and resilience to anthropogenic stressors (climate change, pollution).
In my work, I use advanced techniques and bioinformatics - from whole genome sequencing, metagenomics and (meta-)transcriptomics to biodiversity assessments using environmental DNA approaches. I combine this with organismal physiological assessments, including stable isotope analyses to study nutrient cycling.
I received my MSc degree in Biomolecular Sciences from Utrecht University in 2007, and started my research career working on stem cell-delivered therapeutics for brain cancer at Harvard Medical School. In 2010, I moved to James Cook University (JCU) and the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) to study the immune system of corals and how it is affected by climate change, pollution and tourism; and obtained my PhD degree in 2015. Between 2015 and 2022, I worked at the Centre Scientifique de Monaco (CSM) - initially as a postdoc investigating the microbiota of Mediterranean corals, and from 2020 onwards I led the "Microbial Ecology, Ecophysiology and Ecology of Precious Corals" program as Chargé de Recherche of the Precious Coral Biology Research Unit. As of September 2022, I am a Scientist within the Department of Estuarine & Delta Systems at the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ).
A full list of my publications can be found on my ORCID and ResearchGate (incl. accessible pdfs) profiles.
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