Time flies and it’s time for yet another academic year! We’re a bit late for our introduction, students are already heading into reading week but we were too busy getting over the shock that first years were born in 2001… Do you feel old too?
And with that, we wave goodbye to our fantastic 2018-19 editor, Fionn Ó Marcaigh. Thank you for your hard work and enthusiasm for sharing people’s stories! We have big shoes to fill… We say “we” because this year, you get two editors for the price of one! Let us introduce ourselves:
Jenny Bortoluzzi
Born to franco-british parents, I grew up on the shores of France’s Celtic region, Brittany, where my fascination for the natural world, especially the ocean, burgeoned. At age 17, I qualified as a scuba-diver, and in more recent years have become passionate about underwater photography and freediving. My career in marine biology started in 2012 with a BSc in Marine Biology with Oceanography at the University of Southampton in the UK. I then took a break from studying to gain hands-on experience in my field. I worked with a number of marine organisations across the world including the Bimini Sharklab, the Large Marine Vertebrates Foundation, the Environmental Justice Foundation and the French Marine Research Institute (Ifremer). Following this, I returned to study for my MRes in Marine Biology in Plymouth before coming over to Dublin to start my PhD in the Department of Zoology at Trinity College in 2018.
Now starting my second year, I am supervised by Dr Andrew Jackson, Dr Nicholas Payne and Dr Ian Donohue. My research focuses on the variations in niche ecology of large marine vertebrate individuals and populations (sharks and cetaceans). I will be using biologging and biochemical methods to study both wild animals and museum specimens.
Floriane O’Keeffe
Hi, I’m Floriane! I was born to Franco-Irish parents and spent most of my childhood in the French Alps, before moving to Dublin to attend college. Although this is my first year as a PhD student, it is my sixth at Trinity. I completed my Undergraduate degree in Zoology in 2018, before spending several months working on the School of Natural Sciences’ Athena SWAN application. After taking a few months off to travel around Central and South America, I returned to start my PhD in the Department of Zoology.
I am supervised by Dr Pepjin Luijckx and Prof Celia Holland. During my PhD, I am hoping to investigate the relationship between warming temperatures and parasitism in the water invertebrates, Daphnia.
So there you have it! A brand new, very french team to take on the year! We promise to only bring the best that France has to offer (namely cheese and wine) and look forward to reading all about the world of science, ecology and evolution from researchers at Trinity College Dublin!
A bientôt!