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Sample Newsletters
September 2009
December 2009
Ngaire Phillips
Current job title: Research Scientist/Group Manager, Freshwater Ecology
Organisation: National Institute of Water & Atmospheric Research (NIWA)
Your role in AWIS: Newsletter Editor
Family: Partner Richard, cat Nina
Academic background: PhD, Genetics, Griffith University, Brisbane; MSc (First Class Hons), Evolutionary Genetics, University of Auckland; BSc, Zoology, University of Auckland
Area of science: I am an aquatic ecologist with experience in freshwater and estuarine ecosystems, where my research focuses on combining ecotoxicological, population genetic and physiological approaches to investigate biotic responses to contaminants across multiple spatial and temporal scales. In addition, I have worked closely with Maori to address resource management issues associated with customary fisheries. This research has encompassed the ecology of freshwater mussels, biotic interactions between mussels, crayfish and aquatic macrophytes and the role of cyanobacterial blooms in structuring aquatic communities in lakes. I also lead a research team examining the links between environmental and human health in aquatic environments, specifically focusing on the potential risks associated with bioaccumulative contaminants. This research focuses on potentially at-risk Maori communities.
How I got here: I’ve always been very keen on the natural environment, right from an early age and science was always where I was going to end up. I did my undergrad at Auckland Uni and was very inspired in my last year by my genetics lecturer (Dave Lambert). I figured to be a scientist I’d need a post-grad degree and enjoyed a fabulously inspiring MSc. A stint in the real world (as a toxicologist with the Dept of Health), made me realise I was destined to be a biologist. Off to Brisbane to pursue my combined interests of genetics and pollution at PhD level, followed by stints with the Queensland EPA, NIWA Australia and in private consulting, before finally moving back to NZ in 2003, where I’ve been with NIWA ever since.
Extra-curricular activities: Rowing, etching and various other artistic endeavours, gardening, choir, volunteer phone counsellor
Favourite book: The God of Small Things, Arundhati Roy; What is life?, Erwin Schrödinger; Women in Love, D.H. Lawrence
Favourite movie: Brazil, My Life as a Dog, Cinema Paradiso, 2001 Space Odyssey