Academic Biography
Curriculum vitae, research portfolio, and professional highlights
Education & Employment
Employment History
2020 - Present
Marine Biogeochemistry Group Leader
National Oceanography Centre (NOC)
2020 - Present
Honorary Professor
Ocean and Earth Sciences, University of Southampton, UK
2019 - Present
Principal Research Scientist
Ocean BioGeosciences, NOC
2012 - 2019
Senior Research Scientist
Ocean Biogeochemistry and Ecosystems, NOC
2010 - 2012
NERC Research Fellow
Ocean Biogeochemistry and Ecosystems, NOC
2008 - 2009
Associate Research Scholar
Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, Princeton University, USA
2006 - 2007
Post-doctoral Researcher
School of Marine Sciences, University of Maine, USA
2000 - 2002
Programme Manager for Earth Observation Science
Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), UK
Education
2006
PhD in Oceanography
Ocean and Earth Sciences, University of Southampton, UK
2000
MSc in Oceanography
Ocean and Earth Sciences, University of Southampton, UK
1998
BSc in Physics with Space Science and Technology
University of Leicester, UK
Awards & Highlights
- 2024: Received European Geosciences Union’s Fridtjof Nansen Medal
- 2018: Received Challenger Society for Marine Science fellowship award in biological oceanography
- 2017: Awarded European Research Council Consolidator Grant
- 2015 & 2016: Received Editors’ Citation for Excellence in Reviewing from Geophysical Research Letters
- 2015: Glider observations work with my PhD student highlighted in Nature (Rumyantseva et al., 2015)
- 2015: Featured in Women in Oceanography special issue highlighting emerging and established talent
- 2012: Received EGU’s Arne Richter Award for Outstanding Young Scientist
- 2010: Paper on trend detection selected by NASA as the top publication in ocean biology and biogeochemistry for a White House Office of Science and Technology Policy report
- 2010: Received NOC’s Early Career Researcher Award
- 2009: Awarded NERC post-doctoral research fellowship
Research Funding Summary
| Years | Project / Grant Description | Role | Funding |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-2030 | TiMBER – Forecasting Tipping points in Marine Biogeochemistry and Ecosystem Responses (ARIA) | Co-I | £4.5M |
| 2025-2029 | BioGeoSea – Enhancing Biogeochemical Essential Ocean Variables (EU Horizon Europe) | Co-I | €8.0M |
| 2023-2026 | PARTITRICS – Particle transformation and respiration influence on ocean carbon storage (NERC) | PI | £2.3M |
| 2023-2028 | CALIPSO – Carbon Loss in Plants, Soils and Oceans (Schmidt Foundation VESRI) | Co-I | $10.0M |
| 2022-2027 | OceanICU – Improving carbon understanding (EU Horizon Europe) | Co-I / WP Co-Lead | €15.0M |
| 2022-2023 | BRICS – Biology’s Role In ocean Carbon Storage: a gap analysis (NERC) | PI | £250k |
| 2022-2024 | GLOBESINK – Global ocean sinking carbon flux and variability (NERC) | Co-I | £250k |
| 2020-2021 | CELOS: Constraining the future of the Southern Ocean carbon sink (NERC) | Co-I | £350k |
| 2019-2023 | COMFORT: Our common future ocean in the Earth system (EU H2020) | Co-I / WP Co-Lead | €8.2M |
| 2018-2022 | CUSTARD: Carbon Uptake and Seasonal Traits in Antarctic Remineralisation Depth (NERC) | Co-I | £2.1M |
| 2017-2022 | GOCART: Gauging Ocean organic Carbon fluxes using Autonomous Robotic Technologies (ERC Consolidator) | PI | €2.0M |
| 2017-2021 | COMICS: Controls over oceanic mesopelagic interior carbon storage (NERC Large Grant) | Co-I | £3.5M |
| 2013-2016 | Biological carbon pump assessment using the transport matrix method (NERC) | Co-I | £393k |
| 2013-2017 | Radiatively active gases from the North Atlantic region and climate change (NERC) | Co-I | £2.5M |
| 2011-2012 | Seasonal variability in the efficiency of upper ocean carbon export (NERC) | PI | £78k |
| 2009-2012 | Role of phytoplankton community structure in biological pump efficiency (NERC Fellowship) | PI | £261k |
| 2008 | Bloom dynamics in the North Atlantic: Model evaluation and formulations (CICS) | PI | $83k |
Professional Activities & Teaching
Scientific Committees & Roles
- 2025 - Present: Member of the Science Advisory Board, Alfred Wegener Institute, Germany
- 2026: Section Editor for Encyclopedia of Climate Change Science
- 2018 - 2021: Lead Author on IPCC AR6 report: Chapter 5 ‘Global carbon and other biogeochemical cycles and feedbacks’
- 2020 - 2022: Selection committee member for EGU’s Vladimir Ivanovich Vernadsky medal
- 2020: Guest Editor of Deep Sea Research II (COMICS special issue)
- 2019: Member of Integrated Ocean Carbon Research group (IOC/UNESCO report)
- 2015 - 2019: Member of the IOCCG working group on ocean colour applications
- 2014 - 2017: Member of the UK Arctic & Antarctic Partnership Steering Committee
Teaching Activities
- 2022: Instructor at Ramon Margalef Colloquium on Past, Present and Future Oceans, Spain
- 2013 - Present: Principal Lecturer: Remote Sensing of the Oceans (graduate level, University of Southampton)
- 2016 & 2017: Instructor at Global Greenhouse Gases advanced school, Southampton
- 2016: Instructor at ‘Marine Ecology and the Earth System’ spring school, Bristol
- 2014: Instructor at Frontiers in Ocean Optics and Ocean Colour Science, France
- 2012: Instructor at Satellite Remote Sensing in African Coastal and Regional Seas, Morocco
- 2011 - 2014: Instructor at NERC Earth System Science spring school, UK
Scientific Meetings & Institutional Responsibilities
Organisation of Scientific Meetings
- 2026: Organising Committee: JETZON workshop on “The roles of marine biology in helping the ocean store carbon”, Glasgow
- 2026: Session Chair: Ocean Sciences sessions on marine life carbon cycling, UK
- 2025: Co-chair: Royal Society meeting on “Marine biodiversity loss, fishing and climate change”, London
- 2023: Organising Committee: Ocean Twilight Zone workshop, WHOI, USA
- 2021: Session Chair: “Unravelling the ecology and biogeochemistry of the mesopelagic zone”, ASLO, Spain
- 2020: Session Chair: “Quantifying carbon export pathways”, Ocean Sciences, USA
Institutional Responsibilities
- 2024 - Present: NOC representative for the IGNITE Doctoral Training Partnership
- 2021 - Present: Member of NOC merit promotion panel
- 2020 - Present: Member of NOC grant demand management panel
- 2015 - 2017: Member of NERC individual merit promotion panel
- 2012 - 2022: Member of the NOC Ownership and Governance committee
- 2011 - 2018: Member of the advisory committee for the Graduate School of NOCS
Outreach & Public Engagement
- 2026: Panelist at “Women and the future of science” event at the Royal Society
- 2024: Exhibitor at the NERC Cardiff Showcase
- 2023: Contributor to popular science books ‘Blue Machine’ by Helen Czerski and ‘Princess Olivia and the Sea of Plastic’ by Lucy Hawking
- 2022: Guest on ‘Into the Blue’ podcast discussing the ocean’s twilight zone
- 2021: Podcast with Go2Qurious for Australian Science Week on Earth’s Amazing Carbon Cycle
- 2020: Participated in the Royal Institution Christmas Lecture
- 2020: Science Shambles podcast on plankton poo and ocean carbon cycle
- 2018-2019: Blue Dot Festival at Jodrell Bank Observatory – display and activities on plankton poo
- 2017: Operation Earth museum show – filming for touring interactive exhibit
- 2015: Featured in BBC documentary ‘The Spectrum of Science’ discussing marine phytoplankton
Keynote Talks & Invited Seminars
A selection of recent and notable invited lectures at international symposia and academic institutions:
- 2026: Invited keynote: US-UK Forum on shifts and tipping points in ocean systems, Royal Society, UK
- 2025: Invited Keynote: Ocean Floor Symposium, MARUM, Germany
- 2025: Invited Keynote: Exeter Climate Change Conference, UK
- 2024: Medal Lecture: EGU presentation of Fridtjof Nansen Medal, Austria
- 2023: Invited Keynote: Ocean Twilight Zone symposium, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, USA
- 2022: Invited Seminar: Department of Earth Science, University of Oxford
- 2022: Invited Seminar: WHOI-MIT Graduate Seminar Series, USA
- 2021: Invited Seminar: NASA Ocean Biology & Biogeochemistry
- 2020: The Challenger Lecture, University of East Anglia
- 2018: Invited Keynote: Challenger Society Biennial Conference, Newcastle, UK
- 2018: Invited Keynote: Ocean Deoxygenation: Drivers and Consequences, Kiel, Germany
- 2017: Invited Keynote: Gordon Research Conference on Chemical Oceanography, New Hampshire, USA
- 2016: Invited Keynote: Gordon Research Conference on Ocean Biogeochemistry, Hong Kong
- 2016: Invited Keynote: Modelling a Living Planet symposium, Princeton, USA