Dr. Annelise Hagan
Job Title: Chief Project Scientist, Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation and Visiting Scholar, Cambridge Coastal Research Unit (CCRU), Department of Geography, University of Cambridge.
Role in Project SeaCAMEL: Aquanaut (scientific research diver living in Aquarius habitat) and expedition underwater photographer.
Age: 29.
Home: Cambridge, UK.
Qualifications:
11 GCSEs.
3 A-levels (Biology, Geography, Physics), 1 AS-level (Maths).
University of Southampton, UK: BSc (1st class Honours) Oceanography with Marine Biology (graduated 2000).
University of Cambridge, UK: PhD ‘Reef Regeneration at Alphonse Atoll, Western Indian Ocean Following the 1997-98 Ocean Warming Event’ (completed 2004).
Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) Divemaster; SDI Nitrox Diver; DAN Oxygen Administrator.
Royal Yachting Association (RYA): Level II Powerboat, Competent Crew (Yachts and Tall Ships), Day Skipper (Shore-based Part).
RYA Restricted Certificate of Competence in Radio Telephony - VHF (Very High Frequency).
University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science (RSMAS) Underwater Photo Contest 2007: 2nd prize wide-angle, 3rd prize macro.
Career path:
I have always been amazed by the natural beauty of the world we live in and geography and the sciences were my favourite subjects at school. My love of the sea began when I tried SCUBA diving on holiday at the age of 13, but at that time, I presumed that spending time underwater would be a hobby rather than a career. My decision to become a marine biologist came quite late in my school-time and I had always envisaged myself studying geography at university. Fascinated by the incredible beauty and wildness of Antarctica, I spent time work-shadowing a glaciologist at the British Antarctic Survey headquarters in Cambridge when I was 16. This, I thought, was the career for me!
A year or so later I read that ‘more is known about the surface of the moon than about the deep oceans’ and from this point on I had my heart set on studying the sea. My gap year between school and university enabled me to combine my loves of travel and the sea – I spent 3 months working on a coral reef conservation project in Belize and sailed across the Atlantic and round the Caribbean on a square-rigged tall-ship. In 1997 I started my degree course at Southampton University and although I specialised in marine biology, the course incorporated both physical and chemical oceanography. I enjoyed every aspect of the course, especially studying the reproduction of Antarctic starfish for my 3rd year project, for which I was supervised by one of the UK’s top Antarctic and deep-sea biologists, Professor Paul Tyler.
My father has a PhD, and I always knew that, like him, I wanted to continue my university studies. I was torn between specialising in marine biology working in Antarctica, or studying tropical coral reefs. In 2000, immediately after finishing my undergraduate degree, I was offered a PhD at Cambridge supervised by Dr Tom Spencer, studying coral reefs in the Seychelles. That made the decision for me. Having taken a year out between school and university, I wanted to press on with my higher degree as soon as possible. In November 2004 I completed my PhD ‘Reef Regeneration at Alphonse Atoll, Western Indian Ocean Following the 1997-98 Ocean Warming Event’. In January 2005 I was Principal Scientist on the Living Oceans Foundation Seychelles expedition and subsequently worked on the Seychelles data as a Post-Doctoral Research Associate in the Department of Geography, University of Cambridge. I am delighted to have been working as the Chief Project Scientist of the Living Oceans Foundation for the past two years, and in this role I have been involved in exciting expeditions to Saudi Arabia (southern Red Sea) and the Bahamas.
Interests/Hobbies:
Travelling and the sea are two interests that combine particularly well. Although I have been diving for many years now, I have recently become a keen underwater photographer and in the past 5 years have been on underwater photography expeditions to the Caribbean, Red Sea, Hawaii and Indonesia. Whilst away I like to immerse myself in the local culture and am keen to see as much of the country as possible. I also enjoy sailing, skiing, and for the past few years I have been heavily involved in rowing for St. Catharine’s College, Cambridge.
