Marine Biodiversity and Biotechnology MSc/Diploma/Certificate

Tropical Coral Reefs: Monitoring and Management (A11CR) is an optional course available to all students on any of our PGT Marine programmes. It involves a two week field trip to the Maldives where students are given the opportunity to explore the marine environment whilst learning different techniques for surveying and monitoring coral reefs.See this short film.

The biodiversity of the marine environment is of enormous importance to humans as a resource for food, pharmaceuticals and ecosystem services. The School's Centre for Marine Biodiversity and Biotechnology (CMBB) focuses on research using traditional and newly developing molecular methods to study these important marine resources and products. The rapid loss of biodiversity both on land and in the sea makes it especially important that good knowledge is obtained to enable the appropriate management of the lesser known marine resources.

Now offereing project placements through an ERASMUS scheme with the European Society of Marine Biotechnology (ESMB)

Below are just a few examples of the wide breadth of employment or PhD positions our recent graduates have secured:

• Blazka Smiljanic (2013 has secured a position as shellfish cultivation research associate at NFC Marine Centre (UNI), Shetland
• Grant Rogers (2015) is now technical consultant with Tobii Pro, Sweden.
• Shannon Cameron (2014) has secured a position as Project Scientist with Coral Cay Conservation in the Philippines.
• Milena Zaharieva (2012) worked initially as a temporary lecturer at Myerscough College and subsequently secured a position as Environmental Scientist at the Aberdeen office of Intertek.
• Marwa Al-Ghanem (2011) has commenced a PhD in the Centre for Marine Biodiversity & Biotechnology at Heriot-Watt
• Peter Davey (2011) initially worked for the Northern Ireland Environmental Agency's (NIEA) E.C. Bathing Directives. He subsequently worked as a benthic ecologist with Cardno Consultants in New South Wales. He has now secured a PhD studentship at University of Technology Sydney (UTS), where he will be developing molecular biomarkers for the health and survival of sea grass populations.
• Jennifer Loxton (2010) has secured a MASTS-funded PhD at the Centre for Marine Biodiversity & Biotechnology in collaboration with the Natural History Museum in London and the British Antarctic Survey, research visits to Antarctica.
• Jennifer has completed her PhD and is now a Marine Ecologist at the Environmental Research Institute at UHI. This is part of MERIKA, an EU collaboration into interactions between the environment & marine renewable energy devices.
• Claire Bankier (2012) has secured a PhD studentship at Imperial College London.
• Tuan Will (2012) is now working as a research assistantfor a National University of Singapore sponsored project in Thailand to produce accurate total biomass maps of mangrove stands around Koh Yao Yai
• Mathieu Bourgery (2010) initially worked for Cerberus Sciences in Adelaide as a Molecular diagnostics assistant.
• Matthieu has now secured a PhD at the University of Turku, Finland working towards understanding how microRNAs regulate bone homeostasis.
• Virginia Echavari Bravo (2010) has secured a funded PhD position at the Centre for Marine Biodiversity & Biotechnology.
• Louise Milne (2009) initially secured a position as assistant bacteriologist with Science and Advice for Scottish Agriculture (SASA) and now works as an assistant Laboratory Supervisor for Express Microbiology Ltd.
• Lisa Eckford-Soper (2009) following the completion of a PhD at the Scottish Association of Marine Science (SAMS) in Oban, Lisa has now secured a PostDoc at the University of Copenhagen (HABFISH project).
• Bastien Queste (2009) on graduating secured a funded PhD position at University of East Anglia (UEA) and is now a senior research associate with (UEA).
• Holly Allan (2009) is now working as a research technician at Napier Edinburgh University's School of Engineering and the Built Environment.

You can find more examples and discuss the programme and the effect it has had on their careers with current students and alumni at our dedicated Facebook site.