Isabelle Firth

Biography

Prior to Essex, I completed both BSc Marine Biology and MSc Applied Aquatic Biology at the University of Portsmouth. Funded under the Erasmus programme, my undergraduate research investigated the influence of marine microbes on the hatchling success of loggerhead sea turtles in Kefalonia (Greece) in collaboration with Wildlife Sense. This field-focused research sparked a newly profound interest in how microorganisms impact larger, more complex marine species and their development. During my MSc, my interest in marine biofilms developed with my thesis investigating early marine biofilm formation on stainless steel, with microbial corrosion applications. I feel passionate that science does not exist without art, and art cannot exist without science. My PhD research allows me to combine both interests, using fluorescence microscopy as a novel approach to delve into cnidarian larval settlement and metamorphosis and how bacterial biofilms may influence this. Can light and colour uncover spatial and temporal patterns within biofilms, do they involve cellular or externally secreted biomolecules, and can they determine the fate of larval transition?

Qualifications

• MSc Applied Aquatic Biology University of Portsmouth (2020)

• BSc Marine Biology (Honours) University of Portsmouth (2019)

Thesis