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Stephanie Day MSci

PhD Student

Stephanie Day MSci

PhD Student

I am a PhD researcher specialising in how organic nutrients sustain shelf sea productivity. My research aims to characterise dissolved organic nutrient pools and examine how these are used by coastal phytoplankton communities.

To investigate my research aims, I will collect and analyse field samples using analytical chemistry techniques and microbiological experiments. These methods will contribute towards unravelling the interactions between organic nutrients and phytoplankton in the Western English Channel coastal environment. My PhD is funded by the Marine Research Plymouth partnership and co-supervised by Dr Katherine Helliwell (MBA), Professor Mark Fitzsimons (University of Plymouth) and Dr Andy Rees (Plymouth Marine Laboratory).During my MSci Environmental Science at the University of East Anglia, I researched how additions of inorganic nutrients to coastal water samples influenced chlorophyll concentration. My atmospheric chemistry internship, master’s year studying at the Institute of Marine and Antarctic Science at the University of Tasmania and recent BIO-CARBON research expedition have nurtured my desire to pursue a marine science research career. I am looking forward to exploring all that Plymouth has to offer.

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Caitlin Dye MSci

PhD Student

Caitlin Dye MSci

PhD Student

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caidye@mba.ac.uk

Keywords: microbial interactions, phytoplankton

I am a NERC-funded (ARIES) PhD student at the University of Plymouth and Marine Biological Association. My project aims to disentangle the complex relationships between diatoms, their bacterial microbiota and parasitic marine fungi and is co-supervised by Professor Michael Cunliffe, Dr Katherine Helliwell and Dr Miriam Reverter. My work will combine laboratory and fieldwork components and utilise a range of techniques from microscopy to bioinformatics.

Previously I completed an MSci in Marine Biology at the University of Southampton and worked as a technical writer for Thermo Fisher Scientific’s Microbiology Division. I am excited to employ the knowledge and skills gained from both roles during my time in Plymouth.