Ten PhD students were awarded a total of $116,000 through the 2023 Robson and Robertson Young Scholar Program to further their doctorate research.

• Vania Andreoli, School of Biological Sciences, Harmful fisheries subsidies exacerbate inequities in access to seafood nutrients- The 2024 UN Ocean Conference
• Océane Attlan, School of Biological Sciences, Coral Expansion at the Expense of Kelp Forests: Unveiling Ecological Transformations in Temperate Reefs
• Amy Carmignani, School of Biological Sciences, Investigating the role of coral-dwelling fish as nutritional boosters for corals under climate change
• Ben D'Antonio, Oceans Graduate School, The biophysical drivers of shark movement
• Jane Edgeloe, School of Biological Sciences, Winding back time: Unravelling the hidden effects of climate change on a climate threatened seaweed
• Grace Edwards, School of Biological Science, Nutrient metabolism of seaweeds of Australia: Uncovering the potential of seaweeds to act as biofilters
• Anna Faber, School of Molecular Sciences, Developing biotechnological solutions to foster microbial microplastic PET degradation in the fast-growing, marine bacterium Vibrio natriegens
• Nico Fassbender, School of Biological Sciences, Pristine reefs, pristine shark populations- Do sharks benefit from long-term protection and reef restoration efforts?
• Robert Hoschke, School of Biological Sciences, On-water engagement with professional fishers to reconstruct the past and illuminate present-day challenges
• Anna Ortega, School of Biological Sciences, Presenting the first comprehensive quantification of leatherback bycatch in the Pacific - Thailand symposium

Eleven PhD students were awarded a total of $98,000 through the 2022 Robson and Robertson Young Scholar Program to further their doctorate research.

• Vania Andreoli, School of Biological Sciences, Nutrient composition of aquatic foods: internship at Harvard University
• Kelly Boden-Hawes, Oceans Graduate School, Identifying regions of thermal refugia within a tidally driven coral atoll
• Katrina Bornt, School of Biological Sciences, Persistent chemical pollutants in decapod crustaceans across an urbanization gradient in Western Australia
• Celina Burkholz, School of Biological Sciences, Microbial communities in a changing ocean
• Thomas Crutchett, School of Biological Sciences, Does plastic ingestion cause oxidative stress? A case study of two aquatic species in an urbanised estuarine system, Perth, Western Australia
• Yanyan Dong, School of Agriculture and Environment, A comparative study of tourists visiting Pacific Island destinations - marine environmental impacts
• Anna Faber, School of Molecular Sciences, Developing biotechnological solutions to foster microbial microplastic degradation in the fast-growing, marine bacterium Vibrio natriegens
• Jake Manger, School of Biological Sciences, Discovering the variable eyes of deep-sea amphipods in Cape Verde
• Isobel Sewell, School of Biological Sciences, Utilising insect protein in aquaculture - Singapore presentation
• Taylor Simpkins, School of Biological Sciences, Kelp Blue Carbon: the transport and transformation of kelp detritus on the Great Southern Reef
• Michelle Van Compernolle, Oceans Graduate School, A global threat index for marine megafauna

Eleven PhD students were awarded a total of $103,000 through the 2021 Robson and Robertson Young Scholar Program to further their doctorate research.

• Charlotte Aston, School of Biological Sciences, Optimising the management of recreational fishing and spatial planning of marine parks in World Heritage Areas
• Joshua Bonesso, School of Earth Sciences, Assessing the impacts of climate change on short and long-term resilience and sensitivity of coral reef islands
• Mitchell Booth, School of Biological Sciences, Revealing the adaptive and plastic responses of Posidonia australis to extreme events and climate change in a World Heritage Site
• Katrina Bornt, School of Biological Sciences, Plastic contamination in commercially important decapod crustaceans
• Celina Burkholz, School of Biological Sciences, Utilising transcriptomics to identify bright spots in kelp forests
• Gabrielle Cummings, School of Biological Sciences, Ocean accounting and its application to Sustainable Development Goal 14; Life Below Water at the United Nations Ocean Conference
• Abinaya Meenakshisundaram, School of Biological Sciences, Population genetics and characterisation of the Ningaloo Reef whale shark population from 2016 to 2021, using low-coverage Whole Genome Sequencing (IcWGS)
• Antoine Minne, School of Biological Sciences, Deep-water genetic refugia for the kelps of the Great Southern Reef
• Molly Moustaka, School of Biological Sciences, Understanding how seascape configuration influences secondary productivity in coastal ecosystems
• Matilda Murley, School of Biological Sciences, Invertebrates living on intertidal rock platforms along the Western Australian coast
• Isobel Sewell, School of Biological Sciences, Utilising insect protein in aquaculture diets

Working across a diverse range of innovative projects in ocean science, eight PhD students were awarded a total of $92,000 through the 2020 Robson and Robertson Young Scholar Program.

• Abinaya Meenakshisundaram, School of Biological Sciences, Developing molecular techniques to obtain population-level inferences of whale sharks from environmental DNA
• Pook Komoot, School of Social Sciences, Tracing Long-Distance Maritime Connections in the Indian Ocean World via the Analysis of Persian Gulf Torpedo Jars
• Adi Zvifler, School of Earth Sciences, Resilience, Restoration and Refugia – the future of Ningaloo and Exmouth Gulf coral reefs
• Ulysse Lebrec, School of Earth Sciences, Australia’s hidden landscape: Reconstructing submerged coastal environments and landform evolution during the last glacial cycle
• Isobel Sewell, School of Biological Sciences, Utilising insect protein in freshwater aquaculture diets
• Matilda Murley, School of Biological Sciences, Participatory mapping of Karajarri coastal Traditional Ecological Knowledge
• Maria Jung, School of Biological Sciences, Developing early warning stress indicators of the leaf metabolism in temperate and tropical seagrasses in Western Australia
• Justin Geldard, Oceans Graduate School, Hydrodynamic Forces on Coral Reefs

Thirteen talented young marine students from The University of Western Australia's Oceans Institute received a major boost to support their doctorate research in 2019.

• Malindi Gammon (Project: Predicting the vulnerability of flatback turtle rookeries in the North West Shelf to a changing climate)
• Nahlah Alsuwaiyan (Project: The role of genetic diversity on temperature resilience of the early life stages of the Australian kelp)
• Camille Grimaldi (Project: Oceanographic drivers of coral reef connectivity off Northwestern Australia - joint research project between UWA and AIMS)
• Victoria Cammilieri Asch (Project: Neurobiological indicators of olfactory sensitivity in a cartilaginous and a bony fish)
• Matilda Murley (Project: Investigating invertebrates on intertidal rock platforms in Western Australia: species diversity, habitat distribution and traditional ecological knowledge)
• Hannah Calich (Project: Movement and habitat use patterns of highly migratory sharks)
• Lucy Arrowsmith (Project: Global whale shark study and shipping movements)
• Jessica Kolbusz (Project: The role of oceanographic processes on recruitment of the Western Rock Lobster)
• Laurence Dugal (Project: Developing environmental DNA metabarcoding techniques for ecosystem biodiversity assessments)
• Naima Andreas Rodriguez (Project: Shark aggregations underpin conservation but where are they and when do they occur?)
• Paige Maroni (Project: A phylogeny today, pharmaceutical exploration tomorrow: Next generation sequencing to resolve the radiation of species in the Doris 'kerguelenensis' complex)
• Mario Conde-Frias (Project: Sediment transport processes within coastal ecosystems)
• Renan da Silva (Project: Understanding and predicting the impact of nearshore submerged structures on coastal processes with application to wave energy converters)
  
  
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