People

Young grew up in Kyoto, Japan. He undertook his Bsc and Honours in Marine Biology and Ecology with a supervisor, Sandie Degnan at the University of Queensland in Australia. His Honours research investigated transcriptional responses of heat shock family genes to heat stress in the intertidal abalone, Haliotis asinina in an ecological context. Following the completion of Honours, he went back to Japan and took molecular genetics jobs at Drosophila Genetic Resource Center, Center for Ecological Research (Kyoto University) and the Laboratory of Marine and Biological Function (Kyoto University), all based in Kyoto. Experiences during his career have shaped his passion for evolutionary patterns at the genetic level and interest in ecological genetics. He is currently undertaking his PhD at James Cook University under the supervision of Dr. Petra Lundgren (Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority), Dr. Madeleine van Oppen (Australian Institute of Marine Science), Dr. Andrew Negri (AIMS) and Prof. Bette Willis (JCU). His PhD project aims to find multiple genetic markers that correlate with environmental gradients in coral populations and validate the association between the markers and phenotypic response. Identification of genetic loci for stress tolerance will allow spatial vulnerability mapping and will assist in implementing a range of conservation strategies, including better informed preservation and restoration efforts.