SAMS news room

A former PhD researcher who completed his studies after a 20-year wait and while working full-time in science has been named as Student of the Year at the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS), a partner of UHI.

Father-of-three Dr Chester Sands began a PhD with SAMS in October 2021, while also working as a scientist at the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) based at Cambridge.

Already an established researcher in his field, Chester’s genetic studies found that brittle stars (Ophiuroidea) in the Southern Ocean are more genetically diverse than previously thought and therefore more vulnerable than conservation managers presume.

His work unearthed a surprising discovery that all the species groups originated at the same time. This implies there was a singular historical event that caused rapid diversification in brittle stars.

As well as publishing impactful scientific papers, much of Chester’s success has been in his determination to gain his PhD, having first tried more than 20 years ago.

He said: “When I started at BAS In 2005 I had two children under the age of two and was trying to finish a PhD. I found I had to make the choice between two of the three factors – family, work and studies - and therefore had to drop my very advanced PhD studies to focus primarily on young family and work.

“Covid was the perfect opportunity to revisit the PhD qualifications required for advancement at BAS, as my scientific collaborations stalled due to lockdowns and my older children were finishing school. My wife was starting her own business, but I was also able to align much of my BAS work with my studies and work more from home. This meant I could be there for my youngest when she got in from school.”

As Covid restrictions eased, Chester was able to commence fieldwork for his job, but this often took him away from home for up to three months and limited time he could spend on his studies. He also resumed supervision of other students.

However, he still found time to come to SAMS throughout his studies and passed his PhD viva in October 2025.

Prof. Bhavani Narayanaswamy, Head of SAMS Graduate School, said: “Chester has consistently challenged himself with his PhD research, showing both fantastic and fanatical attention to detail and willingly sharing his excitement and frustrations regarding his findings.

“The results of Chester’s thesis have already produced three published papers and, in addition to being invited to speak at conferences, Chester also actively presented his research at several conferences, nationally and internationally. As such he is considered one of the world’s leading experts in brittle star identification.

“Chester embodies the very spirit of this award: resilience, curiosity, and a deep commitment to advancing knowledge.”

Chester added: “I have thoroughly enjoyed my experience with SAMS, especially meeting my PhD peers who are a fantastic group. I feel very fortunate that I am able to continue my frequent visits to Oban as an Honorary Fellow of SAMS, and hope to build lasting collaborations with new ideas to explore and new students to work with.”