I am an international PhD student at Adelaide University in the School of Biological Sciences. My research focuses on mechanoreception in marine and terrestrial snakes, and more specifically on how this sense relates to ecology and evolution. To explore this, I am employing behavioural and physiological methods, as well as various microscopy and imaging techniques.
 
I completed my master’s in the IMBRSea program (International Master of Science in Marine Biological Resources), part of the Erasmus Mundus Joint Masters. For this program I visited the University of the Algarve in Portugal, the Marche Polytechnic University in Italy, Harvard University in the United States of America, the Tjärnö Marine Laboratory (University of Gothenburg) in Sweden, the University of Western Brittany in France as well as La Trobe University and the University of Adelaide in Australia. My master’s thesis was conducted in both Universities in Australia under the guidance of Jenna Crowe-Riddell and Shaun Collin and focused on mechanoreception in Hydrophis sea snakes and how it related to ecological adaptation. I had the opportunity to join a Field Expedition to Broome (WA) and have worked with the collections of the South Australian Museum and the Western Australian Museum.
 
I was then offered a six-month fellowship by Peter Girguis to work in the Girguis Lab at Harvard University. I developed molecular assays for enzyme detection in deep sea clams and mussels with Andrea Unzueta Martinez.
 
I have since returned to Australia, to start my PhD at Adelaide University and build on my master’s thesis to explore mechanoreception more in depth and from different angles. My supervisors are Jenna Crowe-Riddell, Kate Sanders and Shaun Collin.