Reaching an international audience

PhD student, Belinda Martin was the recipient of the Grieve Memorial Travel Award in 2017.

Enrolled in the School of Biological Science, her main area of research is in plant health and microbial functions in ecosystems. To date, this research has focused on rhizosphere environments, which is the zone of soil that is influenced by plant roots. Belinda's research in this area has included investigating plant-pathogen interactions and the role of plant root exudates in bioremediation of petroleum hydrocarbons. The award allowed her to travel to the United States to attend and present her research into seagrass microbiomes at the Coastal Estuarine Research Federation conference (CERF).

"Presenting at this conference exposed me to a rich and diverse knowledge base that is not only relevant to my current research in plant-microbe interactions but also opened new possibilities for future research within the international community. This experience also provided me a rare opportunity to gain first-hand expert advice on the interpretation and significance of my results and enabled me to maintain my collaborative links with researchers at various universities within the US working within coastal health."

Her current PhD research is in seagrass rhizospheres. The aim is to gain a greater understanding of the interaction among seagrass roots, sediments and microbial communities to improve management of these essential coastal ecosystems.