The Environment Institute congratulates Dr Sarah Catalano, Dr Owen Burnell and Dr Simon Divecha on winning Adelaide University Doctoral Research Medals. The University awards up to 15 Doctoral Research Medals for the highest quality PhD theses examined each year.

Two of the four science University Research Medalists from 2014 were from the Marine Biology Group.

Dr Sarah Catalano was supervised by Professor Bronwyn Gillanders, Professor Steve Donnellan and Associate Professor Ian Whittington for her PhD project: Using mesozoan dicyemid paracites to infer the population structure of giant Australian cuttlefish, sepia apama, in Southern Australian waters.

Dr Sarah Catalano with her Doctoral Research Medal

Sarah’s research focused on a little-known group of paracites, which are found in high numbers in the kidneys of benthic cephalopods (squid, octopus and cuttlefish). She formally described 10 new paracite species, representing the first from Australian waters. Her research explored the unknowns in their lifecycle, along with their use as biological tags to assess Cephalopod host population structure.

Dr Owen Burnell was supervised by Professor Sean Connel, Dr Bayden Russell and Dr Andrew Irving for his project: Seagrass ecology and physiology in a locally and globally changing environment. This research identified how local and global scale changes in marine systems can shape seagrass habitats.

Dr Owen Burnell with his Doctoral Research Medal

The other medal recipient was the former business manager for the Environment Institute, Dr Simon Divecha.

Dr Simon Divecha receiving his Doctoral Research Medal

Simon received the award for outstanding research at PhD level for his thesis: A climate for change: An exploration towards integral action loops to apply our knowledge for sustainability success. This thesis explores the impact of climate change on business strategy, culture and collaboration in two major international companies.