Post-Doctoral Researcher

Bio

I am a marine biologist with extensive fieldwork experience, particularly working with reef corals (coral reproduction, aquarium experiments, and monitoring). After undertaking a Masters in Marine Biology (Fish physiology) at the Université de Bretagne Occidentale (France), I obtained my PhD in Marine Biology (Coral biology) from James Cook University (Australia) in 2011. My PhD thesis focused on the self-nonself recognition and chimerism in reef building corals that involved investigations at all life-stages of the coral (larvae, recruits, juveniles, adults). I then stayed in Australia and worked for 5 years at the Australian Institute of Marine Science as a Research Assistant, mainly working on coral reproduction and husbandry. I then worked as a coral spawning consultant. In 2016, I took a post-doctoral position at the Smithsonian Institute, and was based in Hawaii and French Polynesia where I focused my work on optimizing cryopreservation and coral reef restoration techniques. I now work here at Zayed University in Abu Dhabi as a post-doctoral researcher to establish coral reef restoration techniques for Arabian Gulf corals and to help protect the coral reefs in the Abu Dhabi region.

Google Scholar Profile

Research Gate Profile

EMPLOYMENT HISTORY:

2017-2020: ZAYED UNIVERSITY – Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Post-doctoral researcher supervised by Dr Henrik Stahl and Dr David Abrego

2016-2017: Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute/Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology-Oahu, Hawaii

Post-doctoral fellowship supervised by Dr Mary Hagedorn

2015: VanOord Dredging -ReefGuard program Coral Bay, Australia & New Providence, Bahamas

Coral spawning expert

2009-2014: AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF MARINE SCIENCE, Townsville & Perth, Australia

Experimental Scientist for Dr Andrew Heyward (2014, Perth) and for Dr Andrew Negri (2014, Townsville)

Aquarist at the AIMS Sea Simulator (2012-2013) - Townsville

Experimental Scientist supervised by Dr Madeleine van Oppen (2009-2011) - Townsville

2007-2008: JAMES COOK UNIVERSITY, Townsville, Australia

Research Assistant (coral spawning) for Pr Bette Willis

Tutor for “Life History and Evolution of Coral Reefs” (Pr Bette Willis)

Office

Abu Dhabi - Khalifa City, FF1-1-049

Phone:

+971-2-599-3298

Email:

Research and Professional Activities

• Coral reef restoration

• Coral reproduction

• Coral husbandry in aquarium and in field nurseries

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS:

1. Puill-Stephan E, van Oppen MJH, Pichavant-Rafini K, Willis BL (2012) High potential for formation and persistence of chimeras following aggregated larval settlement in the broadcast spawning coral, Acropora millepora. Proceedings of the Royal Society B. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2011.1035

2. Puill-Stephan E, Willis BL, van Herwerden L, van Oppen MJH (2009) Chimerism in Wild Adult Populations of the Broadcast Spawning Coral Acropora millepora on the Great Barrier Reef. PLoS ONE 4(11): e7751. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0007751

3. van Oppen MJH, Puill-Stephan E, Lundgren P, De’ath G, and Bay LK (2014) First generation fitness consequences of interpopulational hybridisation in a Great Barrier Reef coral and its implications for assisted migration management. Coral Reefs. doi: 10.1007/s00338-014-1145-2

4. Pollock FJ, Katz SM, van de Water JAJM, Davies SW, Hein MY, Torda G, Matz MV, Beltran VH, Buerger P, Puill-Stephan E, Abrego D, Bourne DG, Willis BL (2017) Coral larvae for restoration and research: a large-scale method for rearing Acropora millepora larvae, inducing settlement, and establishing symbiosis. PeerJ 5: e3732; DOI 10.7717/peerj.3732