Expertise and work

I am a microbiologist in the Department of Microbial and Molecular Biology, primarily a taxonomist for algal identifications of both freshwater and marine species, and I also have some zooplankton knowledge. My special interest is in choanoflagellates: small single-celled protists, found in freshwaters and the oceans, that take their name ("collar-flagellates") from a circle of closely packed microvilli that surrounds a single flagellum by which they move and take in food.

I work with a wide selection of microscopes at the institute (light, fluorescent, confocal, SEM and TEM and their associated imaging systems).  I train others in the use of microscopes and in algal taxonomic identifications. Training involves people from within the Scottish Marine Institute and students/scientists from other institutions.

Furthermore I am the main operator of and problem solver for our flow cytometer processing samples for example from research cruises. I also provide training on this machine – mostly in house. More on our analytical capabilities...

Fieldwork and cruises constitute another part of my work life: So far I have been doing fieldwork in Trondheim (Norway) for five weeks, short local cruises in Loch Fyne, and four-week-long Arctic cruises in 2008 and 2010.

Finally, I am laboratory manager for the histology and microscopy laboratories at the Scottish Marine Institute.

Project involvement

• Oceans 2025 Theme 1
• Oceans 2025 Theme 3
• BioMara
• FSA monitoring

Career / education