Beatriz Diaz Guijarro

PhD Candidate

BSc (Hons) University of Bangor, MSc James Cook University

James Cook University

beatriz.diazguijarro@my.jcu.edu.au

As a child she always loved to be in the water, be it in a pool or the ocean, this love was further fueled when she started scuba diving in my early teens. As she finished my college education SHE was considering studying law but marine biology was always alive in my subconscious and in an attempt to completely fill university applications SHE applied for marine related subjects as well as law. After an open day for marine biology at a university in the UK she realised that it was what SHE was supposed to do.

She completed my BSc in marine vertebrate zoology at the University of Bangor, UK, with the goal of working with marine mammals, in particular cetaceans. During summer breaks she volunteered at Seychelles with Global Vision International (GVI) researching the damage a recent tsunami had caused on the coral populations and SHE continued my scuba diving education up to reaching dive instructor certification. Once concluding my BSc she subsequently moved to Townsville, Australia where she completed an MSc in natural resource management, during which she learned she had a passion for molecular genetics. she went on to intern at the Australian Institute of Science (AIMS) where she continued to develop my skills and passion for molecular genetics. she is currently doing a PhD at James Cook University, Townsville, on comparing the molecular bases of regeneration and development in corals.