Topics as varied as marine plastic, seaweed and machine learning will be under the microscope at SAMS as seven new postgraduate students begin their research projects.
The cohort includes four PhD students and three students undertaking SAMS’ new MRes in Marine Science.
The students hail from the UK, US, Europe and South America and began their studies this month. Two of the students graduated from the BSc Marine Science at SAMS, a partner of UHI.
Prof. Bhavani Narayanaswamy, Head of SAMS Graduate School, said: “This year’s intake to the SAMS Graduate School represents the diversity of topics available to students at SAMS.
“But it also demonstrates the strength of collaborations with other research institutes and industry partners. Engaging in such collaborations extends the potential scope of the research and, crucially, ensures it has relevance to that topic, helping to solve timely and important issues.
“We are delighted that such a diverse range of financial support is allowing these students to study with us, from UKRI-NERC’s DTP, University and Institute funding through to those students who are keen to learn more and are self-funding.”
This year’s SAMS Graduate School intake is as follows:
Heather McConnell - Understanding sea louse larval biology and natural abundance to inform modelling and assist management of the Scottish salmon industry.
Director of Studies is Dr Kim Last and the PhD is funded through the SUPER DTP (UKRI/NERC).
Ana Flores Leñero - Mitigating harmful algal blooms with modified clay to safeguard marine aquaculture in a changing climate
Director of Studies is Prof Keith Davidson and the PhD is funded through the SUPER DTP (UKRI/NERC).
Alejandra Mejía Saenz de Tejada - The application of machine-learning to establish baselines and assess change in sensitive marine habitats
Director of Studies is Dr Tom Wilding and the PhD is funded by UHI, the Greenland Climate Research Centre (part of the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources) and SAMS.
Nele Thomsen - Adaptation in the extreme: transgenerational impacts of multi-stressors in rockpool environments
Director of Studies is Dr Helena Reinardy and the PhD is funded through the NERC-funded ECOWILD CDT
Artemis Eales (MRes Marine Science) - Nitrogen uptake by Ulva: influence on growth, nitrogen preference, and biochemical composition. Director of Studies is Dr Michael Ross.
Isabella Cruz (MRes Marine Science) - Temporal and spatial variability of micro plastics in the marine environment. Director of Studies is Prof. Bhavani Narayanaswamy.
Gloria Vazquez Vives (MRes Marine Science) - Understanding compatible and incompatible host-pathogen interactions in brown seaweeds. Director of Studies is Dr Puja Kumari.
Find out more about postgraduate study at SAMS.