Vanessa De La Garza
Vanessa’s current position as a Research Technician in Microhabitat Sensing focuses on using microsensing techniques to evaluate the microenvironment of biofilms and algae to understand larvae settlement-inducing cues. Vanessa earned her Bachelor of Marine Biology with Honors at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) in 2021. During her undergraduate years at UTS she worked in the Future Reefs team helping to analyze data for the first multi-taxa coral nursery on the Great Barrier Reef. During her honors year, she conducted an independent research project assessing the effects of ocean deoxygenation upon the coral holobiont under lethal and sub-lethal hypoxia. This research project focused on how the coral holobiont responded to hypoxia with a focus on Symbiodiniaceae and bacteria. In her spare time, she enjoys surfing, free diving, snowboarding, traveling, exploring nature, and cooking.