Academic Biography
Curriculum vitae, research portfolio, and professional highlights
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
Employment
- 2020 - Pres.
Biological Carbon Cycles Group Leader
National Oceanography Centre (NOC)
- 2020 - Pres.
Honorary Professor
Ocean and Earth Sciences, University of Southampton, UK
- 2019 - Pres.
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
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
Funding Summary
| Years | Project / Grant Description | Role | Funding |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-2030 | OceanNexus – Assessing consequences in the cascading of climate Tipping in the ocean-Marine ecology-society connection (EU Horizon Europe) | Co-I | €6.5M |
| 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
- 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 - Present: Member of Integrated Ocean Carbon Research group (IOC/UNESCO report)
- 2019: Guest Editor of special issue in Progress in Oceanography on the Porcupine Abyssal Plain observatory
- 2017 - 2019: Member of Ocean Carbon & Biogeochemistry Ocean Time Series Committee
- 2015 - 2019: Member of the IOCCG working group on ocean colour applications
- 2014 - 2017: Member of the UK Arctic & Antarctic Partnership Steering Committee
- 2013 - 2017: Member of Science Advisory Board, Sir Alister Hardy Foundation for Ocean Science
- 2012 - Present: Member of NERC’s peer review college
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
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: “Advances in observing and modelling the biological carbon pump” & “Marine life and Carbon cycling in a changing ocean”, Ocean Sciences, 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 in the global ocean”, Ocean Sciences, USA
- 2019: Session Chair: “The multiple pathways of the biological carbon pump”, IMBER Open Future Oceans, France
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
- 2018 - 2019: External representative on CEH individual merit promotion panel
- 2015 - 2017: Member of NERC individual merit promotion panel
- 2012 - 2022: Member of the NOC Ownership and Governance committee
- 2011 - 2021: Chair of PhD candidate interview panel
- 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: Panelist on BBC Bitesize careers event at Southampton school
- 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
- 2021-2022: Digital Ambassador for STEM careers – linking to primary school children throughout Hampshire
- 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
Selected recent 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