MARUM Research Academy

With GLOMAR’s funding support, I attended the European Coral Reef Symposium (2024) in Naples, Italy.

I was able to present the findings of my long-term research on coral-associated denitrification as a 5 minute speed talk. In doing so, I learnt how to present complex work in a concise and clear manner to an audience with varying backgrounds. This is a skill I will carry forward, as it was a very effective way of communicating my findings. I was fortunate to win the best speaker award of my session and received a Springer book about coral reefs in the western-pacific as a prize.

I attended numerous talks throughout the conference. Mornings started with inspiring plenaries from renowned reef researchers, and during the day I joined multiple sessions of talks. Specifically, I had the most interest in the sessions ‘biology and ecology of holobionts in coral reefs’, ‘global climate change and environmental stressors’ and ‘coral reef anthropic pressures, conservation and restoration’.

The ECRS was an ideal opportunity to connect with many researchers within the field of coral reef research. I engaged in many intellectually stimulating conversations with those in a similar research area to mine, providing me with new perspectives and hypotheses about marine microbes and biogeochemical cycling. I also arranged to meet some other PhD students from a lab abroad, who carry out similar research to mine, and we shared knowledge and ideas. I was also able to reunite and reconnect with former colleagues and supervisors, and chat with prospective new collaborators.

Overall, the ECRS was very valuable to both my personal and professional development and I thank GLOMAR for supporting my attendance and participation.