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Integrated Reef Fisheries Lab Building collaborative data-driven solutions to enhance the sustainability of reef fisheries and aquatic food systems now and into the future.

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Sofia Walzer

Graduate students

PhD student

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Biography

Sofia Walzer is a marine biologist and PhD student in the Marine Science program at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST). 

Sofia earned her B.S. in Biology and Society from Cornell University and her M.S. in Marine Science from KAUST. During her master’s research in the Biodiversity and Ecosystems Management Lab, she investigated the use of marine sponges as biomonitors of pharmaceutical and personal care product pollution in the Red Sea. Her work examined the accumulation of emerging contaminants in marine organisms and their effects on physiological health, contributing to a broader understanding of pollution-related threats to coral reef ecosystems. 

As a member of the Integrated Reef Fisheries Lab, her research explores how environmental variability and human pressures influence reef fish communities and their nutritional contributions to people. By investigating changes in fish nutrient composition and community structure across spatial and temporal scales, she aims to understand how shifting environmental conditions affect the availability of essential nutrients from coral reef fisheries. Her research bridges marine ecology and human nutrition, emphasizing the critical role of reef ecosystems in supporting food and nutritional security.