PEOPLE

Dr. Aileen Tan

CEMACS USM, Malaysia

Aileen Tan is the Director of Centre for Marine and Coastal Studies (CEMACS) in Universiti Sains Malaysia; Fellow of Academy Science Malaysia;  Executive Director of the Asia-Pacific University-Community Engagement Network (APUCEN) and Vice Chair of UNESCO IOC of Western Pacific. She is also a Board member of Partnership  for Observations of the Global Oceans (POGO). She serves as international steering committee in several organisations such as CoastPredict, Global Ocean Oxygen Network (Go2NE), The Ocean Science Fund for All, Global Ocean Corps, Marine Life 2030, Ocean Biomolecular Observing Network (OBON), IOC Ocean Best Practices System (OBPS), Global Partnership on Plastic and Marine Litter; and EquiSea. A pioneer in the area of green aquaculture in Malaysia, she has been a champion of mollusc culture for the last 35 years. 

Dr. Annette Jaya-Ram

CEMACS USM, Malaysia

Annette is currently the Deputy Director and lecturer at the Centre for Marine and Coastal Studies (CEMACS), Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM). She has dedicated her career to advancing sustainable aquaculture practices to address pressing food security issues. Her research primarily focuses on understanding the nutritional needs and behaviours of edible marine invertebrates, including mantis shrimp, sea cucumbers, and mud crabs, cultivated in controlled lab environments. Her work aims to improve cultivation practices, reduce production limitations, and ultimately contribute to a more sustainable seafood production system. Beyond her scientific endeavours, Annette and her team at CEMACS are deeply committed to fostering environmental stewardship. They conduct public outreach and educational programs, raising awareness about marine biodiversity and conservation, particularly on the issue of marine plastic pollution and its impact on ecosystems. Through her work, she seeks to inspire both academic and public communities to protect marine environments for future generations.

Dr. Norshida Ismail

Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin, Malaysia

Norshida Ismail is a senior lecturer at the School of Animal Science, Aquatic Science, and Environment, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin, Malaysia. She teaches invertebrate biology, fish health management, aquaculture, and microanatomy.  She also utilized her studies on the life cycle of copepods to benefit aquaculture. For example, Norshida has manipulated the life cycle of Harpacticoida as live feed and managed parasitism caused by Pennellidae in cultured fish. Currently, she is documenting parasitic copepods from commercial fish species in Malaysia, using both morphological and molecular techniques, and collaborating with copepod scientists globally. Her ongoing research also explores sustainable solutions to parasitic issues in Malaysian aquaculture by leveraging native plants and understanding the behavior of parasites, particularly copepods. She is passionate about training and mentoring new scientists, especially in copepod taxonomy, a field where expertise is lacking in Malaysia.

Dr. Julianne Kalman Passarelli

Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, U.S.A.

Juli is the Education and Collections Curator at the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium (CMA) in San Pedro, California, U.S.A. She manages the educational programs and provides curatorial support to the aquarium’s museum collection. Juli specializes in parasitology, ecology, and environmental endocrinology of marine fishes. She recently co-authored a revision of the book “Miller and Lea’s Guide to the Coastal Marine Fishes of California” and is working on an update to a checklist of the parasitic fauna of fishes found along the western United States. She is a past President of the Southern California Academy of Sciences, a past Vice President of the World Association of Copepodologists (WAC), and served as the Webmaster for WAC from 2022-2024. She hosted and co-organized the 13th International Conference on Copepoda in 2017 at the CMA and has co-organized all four International Workshops on Symbiotic Copepoda.

Dr. Danny Tang

Orange County Sanitation District, U.S.A.

Danny is the Environmental Supervisor of the Ocean Monitoring Section at the Orange County Sanitation District (OC San) in Fountain Valley, California, U.S.A. He leads a talented team of biologists and mariners in monitoring the water quality, sediment quality and benthic animal communities adjacent to and farther afield from OC San's 5-mile ocean outfall. Prior to joining OC San in 2013, Danny conducted copepod systematic and ecological studies in the U.S.A., Australia and Japan. He also undertook taxonomic and environmental projects on the subterranean fauna of Western Australia. He served on the Executive Council of the World Association of Copepodologists from 2011-2017 and is a past President of the Southern California Society of Parasitologists. Danny co-organized the 13th International Conference on Copepoda (ICOC) and all four International Workshops on Symbiotic Copepoda. He also was a tutor of the Pre-conference Workshop for the 13th and 15th ICOC in U.S.A. and Japan, respectively.

Dr. James "Jimmy" Bernot

University of Connecticut, U.S.A.

Jimmy is a professor in the Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology at the University of Connecticut. Research in the Bernot Lab involves taxonomy, systematics, morphological evolution, and genomics of parasitic copepods, as well as their evolutionary relationship with the broader Pancrustacea. His research has involved bomolochids, caligids, notodelphyids, pandarids, shiinoids, taeniacanthids, and other parasitic copepod groups. He is particularly interested in copepod phylogeny and the evolution of parasitism, both on fish and invertebrate hosts. Jimmy is involved in professional service in several copepod and parasitology societies including being: a member of the Executive Committee for the World Association of Copepodologists (WAC), the chair of the WAC Student Grant Program, a Social Media Coordinator for WAC, a Taxonomic Editor for Copepoda in the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS), a member of the WoRMS Steering Committee, and an active member of the American Society of Parasitologists. Jimmy attended the 3rd IWOSC in Heron Island, Australia as a graduate student in 2016 and has attended all ICOC conferences since the LA meeting in 2017. He is looking forward to returning to IWOSC as a tutor!

Dr. Bruno Passarelli

Saddleback College, U.S.A.

Bruno is a professor and co-chair at the Department of Biological Sciences at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo, California, U.S.A. Bruno has been teaching Marine Biology, Coastal Ecology, Oceanography, and Human Anatomy at Saddleback since 2011. He has also been leading study abroad programs to Brazil and Costa Rica since 2015. His research background is on the marine live-bait trade and on parasites of marine fishes. He is a member of the American Association of Parasitologists (ASP) and a founding member of the Southern California Society of Parasitologists (SCSP). Bruno has been a member of WAC since 2011 and has attended the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd IWOSC meetings as a participant. 

Dr. Mahadi Mohammad

Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Malaysia

Dr. Mahadi Mohammad serves as an Associate Professor at the School of Biological Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM). He possesses a strong background in marine biodiversity research, with a specific focus on the taxonomy of octocorals and the study of free-living meiofauna. With over two decades of experience, Dr. Mahadi has developed extensive expertise in marine taxonomy, ecological monitoring, and assessing the resilience of coastal ecosystems. His research primarily focuses on the structure of coral communities, the physiological responses of reef organisms to various stressors, including sedimentation, nutrient enrichment, and thermal stress, as well as the taxonomy and ecology of benthic marine organisms. Dr. Mahadi has taken the lead and participated in numerous national and international research projects centered around coral physiology, reef adaptation, and marine benthic biodiversity. His scholarly contributions are reflected in his publications in peer-reviewed journals, book chapters, and conference proceedings, demonstrating his commitment to advancing knowledge in marine science. Furthermore, Dr. Mahadi is an active member of the International Coral Reef Society (ICRS) and acts as a subject matter expert in coral reef and coastal ecology for Malaysia's Department of Environment, leveraging his extensive experience in marine taxonomy, field-based ecological research, and public engagement.