Laura Ghigliotti

Laura Ghigliotti is currently Research Scientist at the Institute for the study of the anthropic impacts and the sustainability of the marine environment (IAS), National Research Council of Italy. Her background is in biology and she holds a PhD on notothenioid fish diversity and adaptation. She works in the field of marine biology addressing various aspects of the polar fish biology and ecology, including diversity, evolution, life history, and insights into functional morphology. She is being involved in polar research for over twenty years, and participated in multiple scientific expeditions both to the Arctic and Antarctica. In 2008, her study on the genomic changes related to Antarctic fish adaptations was awarded the L’Oreal-UNESCO For Women in Science Award.

Laura is working with a range of international organizations on various aspects of polar science, strategic development, and conservation, including the International Arctic Science Committee (IASC), Marine Ecosystem Assessment for the Southern Ocean (MEASO), and the Commission for the Conservation of the Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR).

Current research projects / interests:

• Antarctic conservation
• Climate change
• Fish diversity
• Polar fish communities functioning and resilience
• Visual techniques for research and monitoring in polar regions

Keywords: fish cytotaxonomy; genome adaptation; visual census techniques; MPA management; ecomorphology