Melcy currently works on her PhD in bioinformatics, where the goal is to create an improved monitoring system of bottom sediment (on the seabed) on aquacultural sites.
A multifaceted project
Melcy first begun her PhD at NMBU in October 2021. After finishing her bachelor’s degree in chemistry, microbiology and zoology, and then a master’s in bioinformatics, she thought that the PhD in bioinformatics resonated well with her previous degrees.
"It was the perfect combination. When I was in India, I applied for multiple PhD positions, but I thought that this project was really interesting. It had the components of microbiology, but also bioinformatics. My PhD is in bioinformatics, but a lot of the work is also about the environment. The project seemed really relevant," she says.
She also points out that it is a project that’s essential to Norway, with its vast coastal regions and its focus on aquaculture.
Melcy’s PhD is part of the AQUAeD research programme, which has a goal of creating on-site monitoring of aquaculture impact on the environment by open source nanopore DNA analysis. The goal of the research is to implement a completely new and better standard to measure environmental conditions based on DNA.
New methods can help to improve the ocean seabed
The new system Melcy is working on relies on DNA testing, rather than manually identifying the number of benthic animals from the different sediment samples they receive. Utilising new and old methods together(macrofauna analysis) can help create new surveillance strategies with more frequent sampling in order to understand how both macro- and microorganisms on the seabed respond to the impact of aquacultural sites. This, in turn, can help aquacultural companies respond to the issues aquaculture sites have on the seabed quicker than today.
"My part is the bioinformatics part. We want to create a monitoring method (which includes DNA testing) that is based on microbial composition and how the microbial composition varies along with the existing methods we have today," she says.
The world still has a long way to go
We ask Melcy about how she thinks we can improve the way we use our marine environments. She explains that it’s time we put in more resources to care for the environment. There’s a big gap in terms of the understanding of marine environments.
"There’s a big gap in the research of how we use marine environments. It’s different than other environments we work with. An example is gut microbiota. We have an interest in that because it directly affects us. But marine environments affect us, too. We haven’t explored yet how much of an impact we’ve had on the oceans and the marine environments. That’s not to say that everything else is not important. We need to care for our health, but we also need to care for our environment. I think the microbiology aspect of it is very important when it comes to different environments, we’re lagging a bit on that side," she says, and continues:
"There are temporal changes in the ocean, which contributes to change in marine ecosystems. That’s where the importance of monitoring comes into play. We must be aware of how much impact anthropogenic stress has on the seafloor."
Melcy further explains that by creating a better monitoring system, aquaculture sites can halt or adjust production faster, which allows the seabed recovery, and prevent the ocean floors from entering a degraded ecological state.
"The goal is for the monitoring system to be implemented as the official standard protocol in Norway," she concludes.
Her hope is that she can be a part of a change that will positively affect the ecosystems that we live in. For now, she intends to work on the monitoring system, with hopes to be able to continue her career as scientist in the long run.
To read more about the AQUAeD research programme, you can visit their website: https://www.nmbu.no/forskning/prosjekter/aquaed