Office-Bearing Trustees
President – Michelle Taylor
Contact: president@dsbsoc.org
Michelle Taylor is the Director of Marine Biology at the University of Essex. After gaining a PhD from Imperial College (2011) she spent 7 years at the University of Oxford undertaking postdoctoral research before moving to Essex in 2018. Michelle specialises in genomics (population connectivity and phylogenomics), deep-sea ecology, taxonomy, and habitat suitability modelling. Most of her research revolves around her favourite study subjects: octocorals. Michelle has authored 38 published papers and several book chapters, she has participated in half a dozen expeditions that have explored the far reaches of our ocean. You can follow Michelle’s science adventures on Twitter and Instagram.
Secretary – Alexis Weinnig
Contact: secretary@dsbsoc.org
Alexis Weinnig is a postdoctoral researcher with the US Geological Survey at the Eastern Ecological Science Center in West Virginia, USA. Alexis received her BS in Oceanography at Florida Institute of Technology, followed by an MS in Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology at San Francisco State University and The California Academy of Sciences, and a PhD in Biology at Temple University. She has participated in over a dozen research cruises using submersibles and remotely operated vehicles in the Gulf of Mexico, the western Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of California, and in the central Pacific Ocean. Alexis is broadly interested in the ecology, population structure, and human influence on cold-water coral and other deep-sea ecosystems. In addition to conducting deep-sea science, Alexis is passionate about science communication and creating avenues to make this often ‘hard-to-reach’ field more accessible to everyone.
Communications – Franck Lejzerowicz
Contact: communications@dsbsoc.org
Franck (he/him/his) is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Oslo experienced with multi-omics bioinformatics, biostatistics and molecular biology for the analysis of large microbiome datasets. He completed a PhD studying the diversity of marine, deep-sea microbial eukaryotes at the University of Geneva, and worked had a postdoc experience venturing into environmental and human gut microbiome projects related to deep-sea mining and nutrition at UC San Diego, where he participated to developing bioinformatic tools and to large consortia such as the Earth Microbiome Project and the Microsetta Initiative, and currently works on marine microplastics projects.
Membership and Data Protection – Janet Ferguson-Roberts
Contact: membership@dsbsoc.org
Janet M. Ferguson-Roberts recently graduated with her Master’s in Marine Biology from Memorial University and holds a Bachelor (Honours) in Animal Biology from the University of Alberta, Canada. In addition to her biology background, she holds a Bachelor of Design degree in Industrial Design from the University of Alberta and has taken courses in visual communication design. Her interests lie in marine visual ecology, especially that of mesopelagic invertebrates and fishes. As an undergraduate, she conducted and led three small projects on bioluminescence, including a mock research grant proposal on female elephant seal foraging in relation to bioluminescence, as well she produced a 3D model of the canal system of a species of deep-sea sponge for computational fluid dynamics. Her master’s research focused on the characterization of colour and buoyancy of lecithotrophic propagules of echinoderms. She has also served as highly qualified personnel aboard the CCGS Amundsen on a research cruise to the Labrador Sea, where she sampled benthic invertebrates down to 2500 m using a box core, rock dredge, Issacs Kidd midwater trawl net, Hydrobios MultiNet, and drop camera. Most recently, she has assisted in an analysis of benthic biodiversity in Saanich Inlet, BC, Canada using ROV video footage with Fisheries and Oceans Canada.
Treasurer – Pierre Methou
Contact: treasurer@dsbsoc.org
Pierre Methou is a postdoctoral researcher currently working at Ifremer in France within the BEEP department. His scientific interests focus on the symbiotic interactions between animals and bacteria, in particular shrimp species from chemosynthetic ecosystems, and how these associations affect their evolutionary histories. He is also interested about life history traits of these species, mainly those related to their lifecycles. To meet his favourites animals, he participated in five research cruises around hydrothermal vents in the Mid Atlantic Ridge and the Izu-Ogasawara Arc using deep-submergence vehicles, with three dives on board of the Nautile and Shinkai 6500 submersibles.
Diversity – Alycia Smith
Contact: diversity@dsbsoc.org
Alycia (she/her/hers) is a PhD Student at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, working in the Deep-Sea Ecology and Biogeochemistry Research Group. She received her Integrated Masters in Marine Biology from the University of Southampton in 2019, writing her Bachelor’s thesis on the sexual dimorphic traits of a deep-sea Pycnogonid, Colossendeis colossea, and Master’s thesis on the potential physicochemical impacts of storms on non-cohesive benthic environments under future climate scenarios. Currently, she is characterising baseline biogeochemistry and ecosystem functioning of the abyssal seafloor within the NORI-D license area of the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, which is earmarked for polymetallic nodule mining in the near future. She will also be investigating the impacts of test mining activities on the same ecosystem.
Alycia is a BME student advocate at Heriot-Watt, where she has worked since 2020 to address barriers that contribute to the Black Attainment Gap, and improve the student experience for all minority communities at the university. She has also been a member of the Polar Horizons community (an initiative to increase diversity in STEM) at the British Antarctic Survey since 2020, and an anti-racism alliance in her hometown in Devon, England. She is committed to educating herself and others on issues facing marginalised individuals, sharing experiences, and empowering and celebrating PoC within STEM.
Conferences – Mari H Eilertsen
Contacts: conferences@dsbsoc.org, mari.eilertsen@uib.no
Mari Heggernes Eilertsen is a researcher at the Department of Biological Sciences affiliated with the Centre for Deep Sea Research at the University of Bergen (Norway). Her research focuses on chemosynthesis-based ecosystems, such as hydrothermal vents, cold seeps and organic falls, in the Arctic region. Her research includes describing new species and sites, biogeography and genetic connectivity, evolutionary history and adaptation. Together with colleagues from the Institute of Marine Research and NORCE, she is on the local organizing committee for the next Deep Sea Biology Symposium in Bergen in 2028.
Awards – Heather Judkins
Contact: awards@dsbsoc.org
Dr. Heather Judkins is a full professor in the Department of Biology at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg. She received a Bachelors degree in Marine Affairs from the University of Rhode Island, Masters degree in Science Education from Nova Southeastern University and her PhD in Biological Oceanography from the University of South Florida. Her research focuses on understanding the evolution, ecology, and biogeography of cephalopods primarily in the Wider Caribbean. She is a core member of the DEEPEND Consortium which has been investigating the midwater column of the Gulf of Mexico since 2010 and works on various projects focusing on cephalopods and pelagic snails in the region.
Media – Ariane Buckenmeyer
Contact: socialmedia@dsbsoc.org
Ariane (‘Yann’) is a research engineer at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Stockholm, SE. She uses ‘omics tools to study benthic biodiversity and evolution, and is interested in their role in informing ocean policy. She received her MSc in Biodiversity & Systematics at Stockholm University studying Hox gene evolution in meiobenthic worms, and some current research involves using genes under selection in deep-water octocorals to study depth-adaptation and resilience to a changing environment. Beyond deep-sea science, she’s keen on connecting the DSBSoc community with social-media and manages the main Instagram.
Early Career – Maeva Perez
Contact: early_career@dsbsoc.org
Maeva Perez has been a member of the Deep-Sea Biology Society since 2015. As a graduate student at the University of Victoria and Universtié de Montréal, she studied deep-sea chemosymbiotic tubeworms and clams. Her phD thesis received the 2024 natural sciences’s best dissertation award from the Canadian Association for Graduate Studies. She is currently pursuing her research as a postdoctoral fellow at Hong-Kong Baptist University applying comparative genomics, transcriptomics and epigenomics as well as modeling techniques to understand how chemosymbiotic animals have evolved and adapted to their unique habitats. In 2024, she got the chance to be part of the international scientific team of the “Digital Depth” expedition to the western Pacific seamounts and dive on board the submersible Jiaolong. !
Students – Lucy Goodwin
Contact: students@dsbsoc.org
Lucy (she/her) is a PhD student at the University of Liverpool studying abyssal food-webs. In 2021, Lucy graduated from Bangor University, UK, with a bachelor’s degree in Applied Marine Biology (Hons) and gained a Master’s degree in Marine Biology from the University of Plymouth the following year. During her studies, Lucy spent a year at CIIMAR, Portugal, researching Cladorhizid (deep-sea carnivorous sponges) taxonomy, and wrote her Masters thesis on the community composition of banks and seamounts in the North-Atlantic ocean. Lucy’s research now uses stable isotope analytical methods to identify relationships between feeding niche and body size of abyssal megafauna, aiming to gain insight into how the body size of these animals may be influenced by food input. This will help us understand how the ongoing impacts of climate change, presenting as changes in food quantity and quality, may impact deep-sea ecosystems.
Lucy is currently a representative for PhD students in the EDI committee at the University of Liverpool, and aims to take aspects of this role forward into her position as student trustee, advocating for students of all backgrounds to gain access into deep-sea biology.
Development – Julia Johnstone
Contact: development@dsbsoc.org
Bio Upcoming!
Non-Office Bearing committee members
Sofia Graça Aranha Carvalho Ramos
Contact: aranha@dsbsoc.org
Sofia Graça Aranha is a marine scientist whose research bridges deep-sea ecology and fisheries sustainability. With a PhD in Marine Sciences, she focuses on the conservation challenges facing deep-sea elasmobranchs (sharks and skates), developing science-based protocols to mitigate bycatch and post-capture mortality in fisheries.
Her work extends beyond theoretical research through collaborations with fishers, fisheries managers, and policymakers. This translational approach is reflected in her high-impact peer-reviewed publications, international conference presentations, and science communication initiatives. Committed to evidence-based conservation, Sofia grounds her advocacy in robust scientific data, ensuring that marine protection efforts prioritize ecological resilience.
Julia Sigwart
Contact: awards@dsbsoc.org
Julia’s research focusses on the evolution of marine biodiversity. Adaptive features, which are relevant to each particular species, shape how they respond to environmental perturbations, in the modern world and in the fossil record. She uses tomography to visualise animal adaptations in 3D and understand the world from other organisms’ points of view. Understanding evolutionary radiations, survivorship, and the way animals respond to environmental change, require high resolution data from multiple disciplines. The work in her research group crosses genetics, morphology, anatomy, neurobiology, physiology, computational modelling, and experimental approaches, to understand the drivers for species diversity. Some of these are discussed in her recent book, What Species Mean: A User’s Guide to the Units of Biodiversity, published by CRC/Taylor & Francis in early 2018.
Katie Bigham
Katie Bigham is a PhD candidate at Victoria University of Wellington and the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) in Aotearoa New Zealand. Originally from the United States, she received a B.S. in Oceanography from the University of Washington and between degrees worked for two years for the Ocean Observatories Initiative’s Regional Cabled Array. Katie’s interests lie in how processes at the intersection of biology, geology, and chemistry allow life to thrive in harsh and remote marine environments. Previous research she has been involved with includes studies in the Arctic and at hydrothermal vents and methane seeps. Her PhD project aims to understand the impacts of a large-scale turbidity flow – underwater avalanche – on a canyon ecosystem. As the student officer, Katie serves as the liaison between students and the society as a whole, which involves being a point of contact for students, making sure student oriented opportunities are provided, and advocating for student interests.
Andrea Quattrini
Bio Upcoming!
Social Media team
Delphine Mestdagh
Delphine is painter from Flanders, Belgium and the author of the book Beyond the Twilightzone. She’s particularly drawn to the marvels and beauty of the unknown worlds. With her artwork she wants to share this awe with a broader audience.
Lara Maleen Beckmann
Lara (she/her) is a PhD student at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. Her research focuses on biodiversity, reproduction and life history strategies in deep-sea corals and sponges. An illustrator herself, she is interested in bridging art with science in her work and in connection with public outreach.
Freya Hammar
Freya Hammar is a PhD student at Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Her work in microbiology and her background in illustration have been overlapping more and more, and now she is hoping to use art as a means to communicate scientific research to a broader audience.
Freya is admin for the DSBSoc’s Discord server
Past Officers and social media team members
2023-2025
Pei-Yuan Qian (Conferences, 2021-2025)
Erin E Easton (Membership, 2021-2025)
Julia Sigwart (Awards, 2021-2025)
Janet Ferguson-Roberts (Media, 2023-2025)
Katie Bigham (Students, 2021-2025)
Pierre Methou (Early Career, 2021-2025)
Sheena Talma (Non-office bearing, 2017-2025)
Ariane Buckenmeyer (Social media team, 2022-2025)
Jeremy Horowitz (Social media team, 2024-2025)
2021-2023
Erik Cordes (Development, 2021-2024)
Andrea Quattrini (Communications, 2021-2022)
Bhavani Narayanaswamy (Non-office bearing, 2017-2023)
2018-2021
Adrian Glover (President, 2018-2021)
Erin Easton (Secretary, 2018-2021)
Chris Yesson (Treasurer, 2018-2021)
Julia Sigwart (Development, 2018-2021)
Paris Stefanoudis (Communications, 2018-2021)
Santiago Herrera (Membership, 2018-2021)
Andrea Quattrini (Early Career, 2018-2021)
Ily Iglesias (Students, 2019-2021)
Zoleka Filander (Students, 2018-2019)
Raissa Hogan (Diversity, 2019-2021)
Daniela Zeppelli (Conferences, 2020-2021)
Craig McClain (Past President; 2018-2020)
Moriaki Yasuhara (Conferences, 2018-2020)
Steve Haddock (Non-office bearing, 2018-2021)
Malcom Clark (Non-office bearing, 2018-2021)
Leigh Marsh (Non-office bearing, 2018-2021)
2015-2018
Diva Amon (Secretary, 2016-2018)
Holly Bik (Communications, 2015-2018)
Rachel Boschen (Non-office bearing, 2012-2018)
Erin Easton (Non-office bearing, 2015-2018)
Adrian Glover (President 2017-2018)
Steven Haddock (Conferences, 2015-2018)
Santiago Herrera (Membership and Data Protection, 2015-2018)
Rachel Jeffreys (Awards, 2015-2018)
Craig McClain (President 2015-2017; Past President; 2017-2018)
Bhavani Narayanaswamy (Secretary, 2015-2016)
Paul Snelgrove (Non-office bearing, 2015-2018)
Paris Stefanoudis (Students, 2015-2018)
Moriaki Yasuhara (Non-office bearing, 2015-2018)
Chris Yesson (Treasurer, 2015-2018)
2012-2015
Rachel Boschen (Students, 2012-2015)
Holly Bik (Communications, 2012-2015)
Rachel Jeffreys (Awards, 2012-2015)
Craig McClain (President 2012-2015)
Bhavani Narayanaswamy (Secretary, 2012-2015)
Chris Yesson (Treasurer, 2012-2015)
