Dr Alexandra Campbell
Alex is fascinated by habitat-forming organisms such as seaweeds and things that eat, infect and live on them. She is also interested in how environmental change (e.g. due to ocean warming and pollution) influences these interactions. She is based at the University of the Sunshine Coast, and her background is in marine ecology, environmental microbiology and environmental science. Check our her own website here.

Professor Brendan Kelaher
Brendan is a marine biologist with ~20 years field experience based at the National Marine Science Centre, Southern Cross University, Coffs Harbour.

His principle research aim is to understand processes that create, maintain and impact marine biodiversity.

Catalina Musrri

Catalina is a PhD student based at the University of Sydney. She has a background in marine ecology and research on latitudinal gradients of trophic interactions.

She is interested in the effects of humans and climate change on coastal ecosystems and kelp forests. Catalina’s PhD seeks to understand the responses of crayweed to climate change and find the most suitable individuals for restoration purposes.

Dr Chanelle Webster

Chanelle has a passion for advocating for ‘marine underdogs’ which she considers to be the less charming but incredibly important ocean habitats including seagrass meadows and algal forests. As a marine scientist, she studies how the environment and people affects these habitats to provide evidence to improve their conservation. She enjoys challenging herself to become a better ‘storyteller’ to communicate her science and raise awareness towards making positive change in public perception and values of their importance.

Associate Professor Ezequiel Marzinelli
 Ezequiel, aka Ziggy, leads the crayweed restoration research from the University of Sydney and the Sydney Institute of Marine Science.
He is a marine ecologist that studies how interactions with marine creatures and microbes affect seaweed forests in natural and urban environments. His goal is to use this information for conservation and management practices, particularly ecological restoration.

Professor Peter Steinberg
Peter is a distinguished researcher with more than 165 international publications and multiple patents. He is a world renowned seaweed expert and his research interests include seaweed ecology, diseases of marine organisms, biofouling and antifouling, bacterial biofilm biology, marine chemical ecology and marine biotechnology. He is Professor of Biology at UNSW Australia and Director of the Sydney Institute of Marine Science. 

Dr Claudia Santori

Claudia travelled from Italy to Australia in pursuit of her PhD at the University of Sydney in freshwater turtle ecology and conservation, which she completed in 2020. Since then, she has worked in marine natural resource management and environmental consulting. She is now a Project Coordinator at UNSW & SIMS, working on Operation Crayweed, organising field work and outreach events.

Clayton Mead 

Clay finished his Honours at UNSW Sydney in 2020. His research focused on quantifying the costs of benefits of restoring underwater forests by removing sea urchins. He helps out underwater with diving and above the surface with science communication.