Alexis is a Project Officer for the Conservation Aquaculture intervention of the Pilot Deployments Program (PDP) of the Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program (RRAP), based at the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) in Townsville. In this role, Alexis unites research outputs with industry to engage stakeholders to upscale coral aquaculture for future intervention deployments for reef restoration.

Alexis conducted her master’s research at JCU as part of the AIMS @JCU in conjunction with our RRAP’s ECT and CAD teams under the supervision of Dr. Annika Lamb and Dr. Yui Sato. Her study investigated the genetic impact of breeding coral stock in aquaculture. The work has contributed to bettering our understanding of the quality of corals produced when using conservation aquaculture as an initiative to grow corals for large scale reef restoration efforts.

In addition to the theoretical and genetic background, Alexis has prior hands-on experience in coral aquaculture after participating in multiple AIMS spawning seasons and acting as a research technician for the University of Melbourne. Before moving to Australia, Alexis also conducted field studies in the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef system surveying reef health. Using her experience in coral biology, genetic management, and aquaria processes, Alexis will contribute to upscaling conservation aquaculture for the PDP.