People

Current lab members

Anthony Adu-Gyamfi

2022-2025 (Expected) PhD Title: “Defining the role of seaweed aquaculture in marine biodiversity and ecosystem functioning" 

Anthony's has worked in environmental impact assessment on algal communities in his native Ghana where he also maintained. plant voucher specimens for the Ghana Herbarium. His Msc topic was on seasonal variation in species composition, diversity and biomass of seaweeds in selected coastal communities in Greater Accra, Ghana. Anthony's PhD is funded by RISE (Research and Innovation Strategic Endowment) and aims to assess the benthic impacts of seaweed aquaculture on the local ecosystems, including seagrass habitats of high conservation importance, fully quantify temporal and spatial scales, as well as establish the role of the cultivated biomass as reservoirs of biodiversity and its role (and that of the biodiversity it hosts) in local food webs. 


Madhuri Angel-Baxla

2021-2025 PhD Title: "Machine Learning assisted detection and prediction of climate change related anomalous events in complex marine systems" (Cullen Scholarship, Lead Supervisor Dr. Olga Lyashevska)

Madhuri's PhD is a multidisciplinary project that aims to bridge the gap between marine sciences and machine learning in detecting climate change related anomalous events. The overall goal of the project is to provide a deep learning pipeline for online short-term prediction of anomalous and/or extreme marine events which may impact the commercial aquaculture sector.


Megan is an MSc Science, Innovation and Valorization of Marine Resources (MARRES) student studying at the Universite Cote d’Azur in France. With a keen interest in understanding marine benthic environments, she is conducting her MSc thesis internship with Dr Fariñas-Franco and Anthony Adu-Gyamfi on the project “Disentangling the environmental interactions of seaweed aquaculture: biodiversity, habitat provision and role in local food webs.” Her work will include the determination of biodiversity associated with seaweed farms using two commonly farmed seaweed species in Ireland, Saccharina latissima and Alaria esculenta. 

Sherif is studying the recovery of Ascophyllum nodosum habitats and the abundance and biodiversity associated with the epiphyte Vertebrata lanosa following harvest.

Alanna is studying the biodiversity and population structure of seagrass habitats in Galway City.

Amy Kavanagh



Eimear O'Halloran 


Matthew O'Brian