Our Team

Lead PI

Dr. Matthieu Leray
Principal Investigator. Interested in marine biodiversity, symbiosis, and conservation genomics.

🏛️ HKU

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Graduate Students

Helio Quintero
PhD student exploring the diversity and distribution of elasmobranchs using eDNA.

Laura Lardinois
PhD student studying the ecology and evolution of coral reef fish microbiomes.

Luisa Meister
PhD student studying the shifting functional roles of herbivorous fish in the Anthropocene.

Maria Alejandra Sanchez
PhD student studying the influence of abiotic and biotic factors on the structure of invertebrate assemblages on coral reefs.

Natasha Hinojosa
PhD student studying the evolution of trophic traits in coral reef fishes.

Paige Smallman
PhD student applying conservation genomics tools for understanding the vulnerability of marine fishes.

Tess Morelli
PhD student studying the effects of local and global environmental stressors on a marine symbiosis.

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Affiliated Students

Matthew Doherty
PhD student studying the effect of rising sea surface temperatures on coral reefs

Marthe Stein
Masters student studying niche partitioning in a group of coral reef fish

Lisa Zimmermann
Masters student studying the influence of temperature on coral-algal symbioses

Viviane G. Alí Suarez
Conducting research on coral symbiosis

Yaliana Chichaco
Conducting research on the distribution of largetooth sawfish using eDNA

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Past graduate student members

Jade Hargous
Conducted research on the competitive hierarchy among Tropical Eastern Pacific corals

Maria Chacon
Conducted research on coral symbioses and probiotics

Hannah Sima Rempel
Conducted research on herbivorous fish trophic niches as STRI pre-doctoral fellow

Friederike Clever
Conducted PhD research on trophic ecology of coral reef fishes

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