STEPH GARDNER
Postdoctoral Research Associate, Centre for Marine Science and Innovation, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
Australian, Australia
Dr Stephanie Gardner has a life-long passion for the marine environment, spending as much time as possible around the ocean. Steph has four university degrees, including a Doctor of Philosophy in Marine Biology where she investigated a suite of antioxidant mechanisms that corals use to protect themselves from oxidative stress, which is known to trigger coral bleaching. Steph was based in Barcelona, Spain at the Institut de Ciències del Mar (ICM-CSIC) when she was accepted into Homeward Bound (HB3) in 2018/2019.
Steph is currently a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the University of New South Wales Sydney, Australia. As a marine microbial ecologist, Steph’s research investigates how microbes, like bacteria, influence the health and function of reef organisms like corals, fish and algae in tropical and temperate reef ecosystems under a changing climate. Steph is the Secretary for the Australian Coral Reef Society, and actively supports developing the career paths of young scientists through the Science and Technology Australia’s Superstars of STEM program. As an ocean advocate, her ultimate personal and professional goal is to raise awareness for and diagnose the problems facing our reef ecosystems, to safeguard them into the future.
