Image: Zoë Hilton

Keynote Speakers

Andrea C. Alfaro

Professor of Marine Ecology and Aquaculture;Director of the Aquaculture Biotechnology Research Group, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand.

Professor Alfaro is a leading marine scientist with inter-disciplinary research interests in shellfish ecology and aquaculture. Her research centres on understanding the complex interactions between organisms and their environments, in both natural (field ecology) and controlled (aquaculture) settings.  Alfaro leads the Aquaculture Biotechnology Research Group at AUT, which applies innovative approaches (e.g., metabolomics, integrated omics) to understand complex research questions, such as host-pathogen-environment interactions, resilience in a changing environment, and eco-physiological tradeoffs and balances throughout life stages.

Te Rerekohu Tuterangiwhiu

Ngāpuhi, Ngāruahinerangi, Ngāti-Māhanga, Ngāti Ranginui, Ngāti-Porou

‘Ehara ahau i te purupuru i te takā. Pātaua ia ko ō tama purupuru he tama purupuru marire, ko āhau ko Ngati Rangi, nō te angaanga tītī iho i te rangi’. Ka tukuna mā tāku Ngāti-Rangitanga, otirā, mā tāku aroha nui ki tāku Ngāpuhitanga, e wāwāhi i āku nei kōrero taki.  I tupu ake ahau i roto i te Tai Tokerau, i Moerewa, i Kaikohe. Ā, ko te reo te mauri o tōku mana Māori i te ao i te pō. Ko te ao Māori te tāhuhu nui o āku mahi katoa. Ko tāku nei kaupapa, ‘kia eke te maiaiō ki runga ki ngā here katoa o te Tai-ao, kia tupu ritorito, kia tupu wanawana!’

I am currently a Kaiārahi Rangahau Kaimōana at Cawthron Institute in Nelson. I hold formal qualifications in Mātauranga Māori, Marine Biology and Aquaculture. 

I have special interests in areas where Science and the building blocks of the natural world interact with ngā Pūtaiao and mātauranga Tuku iho. In particular the re-emergence of traditional and customary practices and those practices that are encompassing of Manaakitanga and Kaitiakitanga in Te Ao Tūroa. I am a Marine Biologist and Researcher in several projects at the Cawthron Institute that is spread across Shellfish and Finfish Aquaculture, Aquatic Animal Health, and Seafood Safety, and I believe there is a place for te reo o Te Ao Māori to be heard in these kaupapa. I am the project co-leader for the Whakaika-Te-Moana project, supported by the Innovation Fund of the Sustainable Seas Science Challenge, and the co-leader of the Te Kete Rau-Kotahi project supported by the VMCF in 2021.   

Heni Unwin

Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairoa, Rongomaiwahine, Ngāi Tūhoe, Te Atihaunui-a-Papaarangi

Heni is a marine scientist at Cawthron Institute in Te Kāhui Āīō team and the coastal in freshwater team. Her main role is to interweave Te Ao Māori and science into projects. Her current research is in developing technology for aquaculture industries specifically in mussels gaping behaviour and understanding how gaping behaviour can inform condition of the mussels and condition of the surrounding ocean. She is also doing her Masters in Environmental Science looking at the effects of microplastics on mussels.


Pierre Boudry

French Research Institute for the Exploitation of the Sea

Research scientist, French Research Institute for the Exploitation of the Sea (Ifremer), Project manager, Department of Biological Resources and Environment, Ifremer, France

Since 1994, Pierre’s research is dedicated to genetics and genomics of bivalves. Most of his research is connected with aquaculture or conservation issues and has led to over 150 publications, resulting in his designation in a bibliographic analysis (DOI 10.1007/s10499-015-9928-1) as the most productive author in of oyster research worldwide from 1991 to 2014.

Since January 2021, Pierre is the Director of Biogenouest, the network of life sciences technology core facilities in Western France.

Katherina Brokordt

Professor at the Aquaculture Department, Marine Science Faculty, Universidad Católica del Norte, Chile

Marine Biologist (Universidad Católica del Norte - UCN, Chile) and Ph.D. in Biology (Laval University, Canada). Currently, Professor at the Aquaculture Department, Marine Science Faculty at the UCN. My broad scientific interests are the physiology and genetics applied to aquaculture of shellfish. My research is focused on understanding the responses of marine organisms to changes in their environment from their physiology and genetics. Specifically, I study how the physiological capacities are modulated by external and internal factors, such as the environment, development, reproductive, nutritional, stress and immune statuses; as well as their genotype. I look for these responses at different levels of biological organization, from main effect genes through molecules, organelles, the complete cell, tissues, the whole animal and population level. For this my work is characterized by an interdisciplinary approach, which has been possible due to the permanent collaboration with several other researchers.


Conference Organisers

Conferences & Events Ltd
Conference Manager: Kerry South  
 +64  4 282 1633
  physiomar@confer.co.nz
  www.confer.co.nz

This event is organised by Conferences & Events Ltd, Nelson, Wellington, Auckland & Nationwide.  We are a New Zealand business.