In primary school, I was asked to write an essay on any Australian figure that has shaped our country's history. I, on a whim, chose Sir Douglas Mawson and from that moment onward I feel in love with Antarctica. I get goose bumps trying to fathom this man’s adventures and the work he and his team conducted throughout the early 1900’s. Later in life I was introduced to Charles Darwin and the science of evolutionary biology through his book ‘On the Origin of Species’. From this moment on, my path was very clear to me and I knew I wanted to work in the fields of evolutionary biology and Antarctic ecology.

My love from the ocean came from growing up on the coast of Western Australia whereby the beach was essentially my backyard, my surf board was my mode of transport and my mask and snorkel were my keys into this wonderful world below the surface. My love for sea slugs… well that one is obvious: they are insanely adorable!

More recently however, my work has been driven by the fact that the ocean houses an estimated 50-80% of all life on Earth. In recent years, reports have documented unprecedented and frankly, devastating alterations in both, the terrestrial and marine ecosystems that have resulted in accelerated species extinction rates by approximately 1,000 times the natural rate. This tells us that we, as humans are changing the fundamental biodiversity on the Earth.

This needs to stop. My research is directly aimed at filling knowledge gaps in the Southern Ocean – contributing to the fields of taxonomy, ecology, marine biodiversity and evolution which will accumulate to influence and inform marine conservation efforts.