Meet the Team
Dr Jens Carlsson
Associate Professor, PI Area 52
Interests: Fly fishingPages: UCD Profile
Jeanette Carlsson
Project/Lab manager MSc
Dr Andrew Tighe
Post Doc (2021 - )
Dr Paola Campos
Post Doc (2023 - )
I obtained my PhD in Evolutionary Biology on deciphering the emergence and evolutionary history of crop pathogens: insights from historical herbarium specimens from the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle in 2021 following a MSc in Biodiversity, Ecology, Evolution with a specialisation in Systematics, Evolution (2018) at Sorbonne Université, Paris, France. I have experiences in phylogenomics and molecular biology, aiming to reconstruct the evolutionary history and pathogeny-associated gene content evolution by producing and using a geographically and temporally spread-out genomes dataset, manipulating historical specimens from museums and growing modern bacterial strains.
Paul Flynn
Part-time PhD Student (2015 - )
Sarahjane Power
PhD Student (2022 - ) with the Zixia Huang lab (lead supervisor)
Michael Connell
PhD Student (2023 - ) with the Mary Kelly-Quinn lab
Robert Moise
PhD Student (2023 - ) with the Mary Kelly-Quinn lab (lead supervisor)
I have a multidisciplinary education and research experience that cover animal behaviour, ecology, and conservation. My interests are rather wide ranging, but my main focus is on ecological monitoring and the development of innovative tools that promote environmental quality and biodiversity protection.
I am now a PhD student within the Area52 lab. The research I am working on is part of the EPA-funded HydroGen project, which involves a collaboration between various institutes. The overall objective of my research is to evaluate how eDNA can integrate and support traditional monitoring methods for the Water Framework Directive, focusing on macroinvertebrates and microbial communities.
Current MSc & Undergraduate Students
MSc Students
4th year Students
ALUMNI 2012 -
Past Post Docs/Research Scientists/Technicians
Farrell ED. Research Fellow. 2015 - 2020. EASME/EMFF/Herring in Divisions 6.a, 7.b and 7.c: Scientific Assessment of the Identity of the Southern and Northern Stocks through Genetic and Morphometric Analysis. UCD.
Gargan L. PostDoc. 2018-2020. Marine Institute Beyond 2020 Burrishole Ecosystem Observatory Network/EPA ReConnect. Assessment of the extent and impact of barriers on freshwater hydromorphology and connectivity. ECOSTRUCTURE: climate change adaptation through ecologically sensitive coastal infrastructure. UCD.
Ball B. Research Scientist. 2016 - 2019. Marine Institute Beyond 2020 Burrishole Ecosystem Observatory Network/EPA ReConnect. Assessment of the extent and impact of barriers on freshwater hydromorphology and connectivity in Ireland. UCD.
Bracken F. PostDoc. 2016 - 2018. Irish Research Council. Exploration of an interdisciplinary methodological tool to assess the status of low density species in aquatic systems. UCD.
Collins PC. PostDoc. 2013 – 2015. Science Foundation Ireland. Taxonomy and connectivity of animal species at the Moytirra hydrothermal vent field. UCD.
Farrell ED. PostDoc. 2013 – 2015. Irish Research Council. Population structure, phlyogeography and stock expansion of the boarfish, Capros aper in Atlantic and Mediterranean waters. UCD.
Prado M. PostDoc. 2013 – 2015 & 2018. Marie Curie. Summer disease in Crassotrea gigas. UCC/UCD.
Past Graduate Students
Byrne J. 2023. Investigating the potential of non-invasive avian predator scat sampling (PhD, UCD)
Collins C. 2023. Availability, perceived barriers, and usage of environmental DNA techniques for aquatic biomonitoring: a comparison of Canada and Sweden (Taught MSc, UCD).
de Vos E. 2023. Spatial and temporal variations in the diet of mackerel icefish (Champsocephalus gunnari) in the waters around South Georgia (Taught MSc, UCD).
Dolan E. 2023. Detecting the rare freshwater stonefly Protonemura praecox using eDNA and traditional techniques (Research MSc, UCD).
Hintikka S. 2022. Tropical marine biodiversity through a molecular lens: eDNA metabarcoding across oceans, habitats, and time (PhD, UCD).
Tighe A. 2021. Investigating the potential of genomics in aquatic pathogen diagnostics (PhD, UCD).
Atkinson S. 2019. Causes and Consequences of River Fragmentation in Ireland (PhD, UCD).
Byrne J. 2019. Environmental DNA – Future Potential for Crime Scene Investigation (Research MSc, UCD).
O'Flaherty C. 2019. Evaluating the short-term effectiveness of a resort-managed no-take fishing zone (Taught MSc, UCD).
Gallagher J. 2018. Investigating the genetic structure of Dublin Bay Prawn Nephrops norvegicus across its distribution (PhD, UCD).
Gargan L. 2018. Environmental (e)DNA in ecology and evolution: potentials and pitfalls (PhD, UCD).
Overby S. 2017. Non-invasive genetic sampling methods for giraffe faeces (Taught MSc, UCD).
Thurman K. 2017. Non-invasive DNA collection of Aepyceros melampus melampus (common impala) faeces using the novel swabbing method in the Galana Wildlife Conservancy, Kenya (Taught MSc, UCD).
Tighe A. 2017. Collection, extraction and sequencing of environmental DNA derived from African Savannah elephant scat (Taught MSc, UCD).
Gilbert C. 2016. A non-invasive sampling technique for Equus quagga and Giraffa camelopardalis using eDNA (Taught MSc, UCD).
Vartia S. 2016. The development and application of molecular tools on Atlantic cod, Gadus morhua, from farmed and wild stocks (PhD with NUIG).
Coughlan K. 2015. eDNA in water and scat (Taught MSc, UCD).
Fereira DG. 2015. Visiting Sandwich Scholar, PhD candidate, Universidade Estadual de Londrina, Paraná State, Brazil, six months visit (UCD).
Bréchon A. 2013. A systematic, multi-country comparison of cod mislabeling in European and non-European nations (Research MSc, UCD).
Gustavson M. 2013. Short interval sampling of environmental DNA monitors presence and relative abundance of the Irish Sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) in the Mulkear River: A method and protocol (Taught MSc, UCD).
Past 4th year Students
De Hora A. 2023. Analysing elephant diet using DNA metabarcoding.
Delaney L. 2023. Aquatic metabarcoding.
Garcia-Verdugo O. 2023. Developing non-invasive sampling protocols for white rhinos.
Connell M. 2022. Optimising non-invasive DNA sampling for southern white and Indian rhinoceros.
Foy D. 2022. Genetic analyses of Eurasian otters (Lutra lutra) using non-invasive sampling methods.
Dagg H. 2021- Pink salmon and eDNA.
Griffin K. 2021 - DNA barcoding for identification of biodiversity in Kenya.
Jones M. 2021 - Kenyan antelope genetic diversity.
Browne L. 2020 - Exploring evolutionary history of Tsavo lions in the Galana Wildlife Conservancy (Kenya)
Dempsey J. 2020 - Using mitochondrial DNA to examine the species identity of dikdiks south of the Galana River
Grayson S. 2020 - Molecular characterisation of fish species in the Galana River
Jessen L. 2020 - Using mitochondrial DNA to examine the species identity of dikdiks north of the Galana River
Kelly L. 2020 - Molecular characterisation of freshwater invertebrates found in the Galana River
O’Connor A. 2020 - Using DNA barcodes to uncover the species of rays and skates present in the Irish Sea
Barry N. 2019. Terrestrial invertebrate barcodes of the Galana Wildlife Conservancy, Kenya.
Crowley D. 2019. Identification of species diversity of elasmobranchs in the Irish Sea.
Mc’Govern D. 2019. The use of scat samples for genetic studies of African elephants.
Daly O. 2018. Madagascan Leaf-tail gecko genetics.
Hussah A. 2018. Smooth newt barcoding.
Lawless A. 2018. Environmental DNA detection in a natural river system.
Rafter L. 2018. Irish Mayfly Barcode.
Brennan A. 2017. Shedding light on the museums - DNA extraction from formalin-fixed boarfish tissues.
Tanner L. 2017. The development of a human DNA blocking primer.
Alsultan D. 2016. Taxonomic identification versus metabarcoding: Detection of marine biodiversity of plankton in Malahide Marina.
Maguire S. 2016. Detection of Salmonid environmental DNA in lake sediment cores from the Burrishoole Catchment Area.
Gallagher J. 2014. A study of polychaetes scaleworm and a bythograeidae crab from a newly discovered hydrothermal vent field.
Moore K. 2014. Resolving the phylogenetic relationships of shrimp and fish species found at deep-sea hydrothermal vents.
Ruane A. 2014. Resolving the phylogenetic relationship of a population of shrimp from the Moytirra hydrothermal vent field.
Smeaton A. 2014. Population genetic parameters and evolutionary history of the hydrothermal vent endemic snail, Peltospira smaragdina.