I am fascinated by how communities of the smallest marine organisms (i.e. prokaryotes; algae; viruses) function to drive systems at the largest scales (e.g. global nutrient cycling). Previously I have focused on the characterization of Open Ocean and Coastal viral communities, key players of global biogeochemistry who remain largely underexplored. To accomplish this, I developed a hybrid, long- and short-read viral metagenomic method during my PhD, a NERC DTP with Dr Ben Temperton at the University of Exeter (UoE) and Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PML). During my first post-doctoral position at the UoE I further developed this method to include viral communities that are ‘active’ in host cells and applied it to the investigation of a hypoxic marine environment, work that is highly relevant to the reduction in oxygen levels of ever-growing areas of the Global Ocean. Currently I am conducting Horizon Europe funded research with Professor Michael Cunliffe, investigating temporal and spatial patterns in marine biodiversity of the Western Channel Observatory and other European time series. I will also establish long-read (MinION) sequencing at the MBA and investigate how it could be leveraged for monitoring marine ecosystem change.