Faculty of Health and Life Sciences

Dr Luis Huckstadt

Dr Luis Huckstadt

Senior Lecturer in Marine Ecology

 L.Huckstadt@exeter.ac.uk

 01326255065

 Stella Turk Building B051-L09

 

University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Penryn, TR10 9FE

Overview

I am a Senior Lecturer at the Centre for Ecology and Conservation at the University of Exeter in Cornwall (England).

My research is motivated by my interest in understanding the role that large predators, particularly marine mammals, play in marine ecosystems, especially in areas more susceptible to human-induced climatic change such as upwelling and polar marine systems. To help to answer these questions, I use Biologging technologies and Stable Isotope Analyses to improve our understanding of the link between changing environments and the at-sea behaviors of marine top predators.

I was born and raised in Venezuela to Chilean parents and moved to Chile in my teens. After getting my Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Marine Biology and Oceanography in Chile at the Universidad de Concepcion, I got awarded a Fulbright Fellowship and moved to the United States to pursue my PhD, where I lived for 15 years as an immigrant scientist, and I now live in England since late 2021.

Qualifications

2000    BSc Marine Biology (Universidad de Concepción, Chile)
2004    MSc Oceanography (Universidad de Concepción, Chile)
2012 PhD Ocean Sciences (University of California Santa Cruz, USA)

Links

Research group links

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Research

Research projects

  • NSFGEO-NERC Collaborative Research: Effects of a Changing Climate on the Habitat Utilization, Foraging Ecology and Distribution of Crabeater Seals

  • Using Animal-borne Instruments (ABI) to sample coastal areas of the Southern Ocean

  • Filling the gap: characterization of winter hydrographic conditions and habitat use in the Northern Antarctic Peninsula using instrumented seals and ocean modelling

  • Developing Metrics of Animal Condition and their linkage to Vital Rates: Further Development of the PCoD Model

Research grants

  • 2021 National Science Foundation
    NSFGEO-NERC Collaborative Research: Effects of a Changing Climate on the Habitat Utilization, Foraging Ecology and Distribution of Crabeater Seals
  • 2020 National Science Foundation
    EAGER: Filling a Crucial Oceanographic Observation Gap in the Southern Ocean with Animal-borne Instruments

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Publications

Journal articles

Goetz KT, Dinniman MS, Hückstädt LA, Robinson PW, Shero MR, Burns JM, Hofmann EE, Stammerjohn SE, Hazen EL, Ainley DG, et al (2023). Seasonal habitat preference and foraging behaviour of post-moult Weddell seals in the western Ross Sea. Royal Society Open Science, 10(1).
Borras-Chavez R, Goebel ME, Villegas-Amtmann S, Huckstadt LA, Rivera-Rebella C, Costa DP, Farina JM, Bozinovic F (2023). Time and behavioral adjustments to lactation: Insights from a marine predator. MARINE MAMMAL SCIENCE, 39(1), 131-150.  Author URL.
Conners MG, Sisson NB, Agamboue PD, Atkinson PW, Baylis AMM, Benson SR, Block BA, Bograd SJ, Bordino P, Bowen WD, et al (2022). Mismatches in scale between highly mobile marine megafauna and marine protected areas. Frontiers in Marine Science, 9
Reisinger RR, Brooks CM, Raymond B, Freer JJ, Cotté C, Xavier JC, Trathan PN, Bornemann H, Charrassin J-B, Costa DP, et al (2022). Predator-derived bioregions in the Southern Ocean: Characteristics, drivers and representation in marine protected areas. Biological Conservation, 272
Noh HJ, Turner-Maier J, Schulberg SA, Fitzgerald ML, Johnson J, Allen KN, Hückstädt LA, Batten AJ, Alfoldi J, Costa DP, et al (2022). The Antarctic Weddell seal genome reveals evidence of selection on cardiovascular phenotype and lipid handling. Communications Biology, 5(1).
Adachi T, Naito Y, Robinson PW, Costa DP, Hückstädt LA, Holser RR, Iwasaki W, Takahashi A (2022). Whiskers as hydrodynamic prey sensors in foraging seals. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 119(25).
Pearson A, Schmitt T, Robeck T, Hückstädt L, Tift M (2021). First Report of Red Blood Cell Lifespan in a Marine Mammal: an Insight into Endogenous Carbon Monoxide (CO) Production. The FASEB Journal, 35(S1).
Adachi T, Takahashi A, Costa DP, Robinson PW, Hückstädt LA, Peterson SH, Holser RR, Beltran RS, Keates TR, Naito Y, et al (2021). Forced into an ecological corner: Round-the-clock deep foraging on small prey by elephant seals. Science advances, 7(20). Abstract.
Blakeway J-A, Arnould JPY, Hoskins AJ, Martin-Cabrera P, Sutton GJ, Huckstadt LA, Costa DP, Páez-Rosas D, Villegas-Amtmann S (2021). Influence of hunting strategy on foraging efficiency in Galapagos sea lions. PeerJ, 9
Huckstadt LA, Pinones A, Palacios DM, McDonald BI, Dinniman MS, Hofmann EE, Burns JM, Crocker DE, Costa DP (2021). Projected shifts in the foraging habitat of crabeater seals along the Antarctic Peninsula (vol 10, pg 472, 2020). NATURE CLIMATE CHANGE, 11(6), 551-551.  Author URL.
Huckstadt LA, Schwarz LK, Friedlaender AS, Mate BR, Zerbini AN, Kennedy A, Robbins J, Gales NJ, Costa DP (2020). A dynamic approach to estimate the probability of exposure of marine predators to oil exploration seismic surveys over continental shelf waters. ENDANGERED SPECIES RESEARCH, 42, 185-199.  Author URL.
Yoshino K, Takahashi A, Adachi T, Costa DP, Robinson PW, Peterson SH, Hückstädt LA, Holser RR, Naito Y (2020). Acceleration-triggered animal-borne videos show a dominance of fish in the diet of female northern elephant seals. The Journal of experimental biology, 223(Pt 5). Abstract.
Wright TJ, Davis RW, Holser RR, Hückstädt LA, Danesi CP, Porter C, Widen SG, Williams TM, Costa DP, Sheffield-Moore M, et al (2020). Changes in Northern Elephant Seal Skeletal Muscle Following Thirty Days of Fasting and Reduced Activity. Frontiers in Physiology, 11
Keates TR, Kudela RM, Holser RR, Huckstadt LA, Simmons SE, Costa DP (2020). Chlorophyll fluorescence as measured in situ by animal-borne instruments in the northeastern Pacific Ocean. JOURNAL OF MARINE SYSTEMS, 203  Author URL.
Hückstädt LA, Piñones A, Palacios DM, McDonald BI, Dinniman MS, Hofmann EE, Burns JM, Crocker DE, Costa DP (2020). Projected shifts in the foraging habitat of crabeater seals along the Antarctic Peninsula. Nature Climate Change, 10(5), 472-477.
Pinones A, Huckstadt LA, Palacios DM, McDonald BI, Dinniman MS, Hofmann EE, Burns JM, Crocker DE, Costa DP (2020). Projected shifts in the foraging habitat of crabeater seals along the Antarctic Peninsula (vol 56, pg 213, 2020). NATURE CLIMATE CHANGE, 10(8), 791-791.  Author URL.
McDonald BI, Tift MS, Hückstädt LA, Jeffko M, Ponganis PJ (2020). Stroke effort and relative lung volume influence heart rate in diving sea lions. The Journal of experimental biology, 223(Pt 5). Abstract.
Ropert-Coudert Y, Van de Putte AP, Reisinger RR, Bornemann H, Charrassin J-B, Costa DP, Danis B, Hückstädt LA, Jonsen ID, Lea M-A, et al (2020). The retrospective analysis of Antarctic tracking data project. Scientific data, 7(1). Abstract.
Hindell MA, Reisinger RR, Ropert-Coudert Y, Hückstädt LA, Trathan PN, Bornemann H, Charrassin J-B, Chown SL, Costa DP, Danis B, et al (2020). Tracking of marine predators to protect Southern Ocean ecosystems. Nature, 580(7801), 87-92. Abstract.
Harcourt R, Sequeira AMM, Zhang X, Roquet F, Komatsu K, Heupel M, McMahon C, Whoriskey F, Meekan M, Carroll G, et al (2019). Animal-Borne Telemetry: an Integral Component of the Ocean Observing Toolkit. FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE, 6  Author URL.
Horning M, Andrews RD, Bishop AM, Boveng PL, Costa DP, Crocker DE, Haulena M, Hindell M, Hindle AG, Holser RR, et al (2019). Best practice recommendations for the use of external telemetry devices on pinnipeds. Animal Biotelemetry, 7(1).
Adachi T, Huckstadt LA, Tift MS, Costa DP, Naito Y, Takahashi A (2019). Inferring prey size variation from mandible acceleration in northern elephant seals. MARINE MAMMAL SCIENCE, 35(3), 893-908.  Author URL.
Hindle AG, Allen KN, Batten AJ, Hückstädt LA, Turner-Maier J, Schulberg SA, Johnson J, Karlsson E, Lindblad-Toh K, Costa DP, et al (2019). Low guanylyl cyclase activity in Weddell seals: implications for peripheral vasoconstriction and perfusion of the brain during diving. AJP Regulatory Integrative and Comparative Physiology, 316(6), r704-r715.
Brault EK, Koch PL, Costa DP, McCarthy MD, Huckstadt LA, Goetz KT, McMahon KW, Goebel ME, Karlsson O, Teilmann J, et al (2019). Trophic position and foraging ecology of Ross, Weddell, and crabeater seals revealed by compound-specific isotope analysis. MARINE ECOLOGY PROGRESS SERIES, 611, 1-18.  Author URL.
Keates TR, Kudela RM, Holser RR, Hückstädt LA, Simmons SE, Costa DP (2019). WITHDRAWN: Chlorophyll fluorescence as measured in situ by animal-borne instruments in the northeastern Pacific Ocean. Journal of Marine Systems
Tift MS, Hückstädt LA, Ponganis PJ (2018). Anterior vena caval oxygen profiles in a deep-diving California sea lion: arteriovenous shunts, a central venous oxygen store and oxygenation during lung collapse. The Journal of experimental biology, 221(Pt 1). Abstract.
Sequeira AMM, Rodríguez JP, Eguíluz VM, Harcourt R, Hindell M, Sims DW, Duarte CM, Costa DP, Fernández-Gracia J, Ferreira LC, et al (2018). Convergence of marine megafauna movement patterns in coastal and open oceans. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 115(12), 3072-3077. Abstract.  Author URL.
Bagchi A, Batten AJ, Levin M, Allen KN, Fitzgerald ML, Hückstädt LA, Costa DP, Buys ES, Hindle AG (2018). Intrinsic anti-inflammatory properties in the serum of two species of deep-diving seal. The Journal of experimental biology, 221(Pt 13). Abstract.
Hindle AG, Bagchi A, Batten A, Levin M, Allen KN, Huckstadt LA, Costa DP, Zapol WM, Buys ES (2018). Intrinsic anti‐inflammatory properties of serum in deep‐diving seals. The FASEB Journal, 32(S1), 859.9-859.9.
Kooyman GL, van Dam RP, Hückstädt LA (2018). Night diving by some emperor penguins during the winter breeding period at Cape Washington. The Journal of experimental biology, 221(Pt 1). Abstract.
McHuron EA, Peterson SH, Hückstädt LA, Melin SR, Harris JD, Costa DP (2018). The energetic consequences of behavioral variation in a marine carnivore. Ecology and evolution, 8(8), 4340-4351. Abstract.
Hückstädt LA, Holser RR, Tift MS, Costa DP (2018). The extra burden of motherhood: reduced dive duration associated with pregnancy status in a deep-diving mammal, the northern elephant seal. Biology letters, 14(2). Abstract.
Pirotta E, Mangel M, Costa DP, Mate B, Goldbogen JA, Palacios DM, Hückstädt LA, McHuron EA, Schwarz L, New L, et al (2017). A Dynamic State Model of Migratory Behavior and Physiology to Assess the Consequences of Environmental Variation and Anthropogenic Disturbance on Marine Vertebrates. The American naturalist, 191(2), E40-E56. Abstract.
Tift MS, Hückstädt LA, McDonald BI, Thorson PH, Ponganis PJ (2017). Flipper stroke rate and venous oxygen levels in free-ranging California sea lions. The Journal of experimental biology, 220(Pt 8), 1533-1540. Abstract.
Roquet F, Boehme L, Block B, Charrassin J-B, Costa D, Guinet C, Harcourt RG, Hindell MA, Huckstadt LA, McMahon CR, et al (2017). Ocean Observations Using Tagged Animals. OCEANOGRAPHY, 30(2), 139-139.  Author URL.
Hückstädt LA, McCarthy MD, Koch PL, Costa DP (2017). What difference does a century make? Shifts in the ecosystem structure of the Ross Sea, Antarctica, as evidenced from a sentinel species, the Weddell seal. Proceedings. Biological sciences, 284(1861). Abstract.
Fiechter J, Huckstadt LA, Rose KA, Costa DP (2016). A fully coupled ecosystem model to predict the foraging ecology of apex predators in the California Current. MARINE ECOLOGY PROGRESS SERIES, 556, 273-285.  Author URL.
Fregosi S, Klinck H, Horning M, Costa DP, Mann D, Sexton K, Hückstädt LA, Mellinger DK, Southall BL (2016). An animal-borne active acoustic tag for minimally invasive behavioral response studies on marine mammals. Animal Biotelemetry, 4(1).
Hindell MA, McMahon CR, Bester MN, Boehme L, Costa D, Fedak MA, Guinet C, Herraiz-Borreguero L, Harcourt RG, Huckstadt L, et al (2016). Circumpolar habitat use in the southern elephant seal: implications for foraging success and population trajectories. ECOSPHERE, 7(5).  Author URL.
Riet-Sapriza FG, Costa DP, Franco-Trecu V, Marin Y, Chocca J, Gonzalez B, Beathyate G, Chilvers BL, Huckstadt LA (2016). Foraging behavior of lactating South American sea lions (<i>Otaria flavescens</i>) and spatial-temporal resource overlap with the Uruguayan fisheries (vol 88, pg 106, 2013). DEEP-SEA RESEARCH PART II-TOPICAL STUDIES IN OCEANOGRAPHY, 132, 267-268.  Author URL.
Hückstädt LA, Tift MS, Riet-Sapriza F, Franco-Trecu V, Baylis AMM, Orben RA, Arnould JPY, Sepulveda M, Santos-Carvallo M, Burns JM, et al (2016). Regional variability in diving physiology and behavior in a widely distributed air-breathing marine predator, the South American sea lion (Otaria byronia). The Journal of experimental biology, 219(Pt 15), 2320-2330. Abstract.
Beltran RS, Peterson SH, McHuron EA, Reichmuth C, Hückstädt LA, Costa DP (2016). Seals and sea lions are what they eat, plus what? Determination of trophic discrimination factors for seven pinniped species. Rapid communications in mass spectrometry : RCM, 30(9), 1115-1122. Abstract.
Schwarz LK, Villegas-Amtmann S, Beltran RS, Costa DP, Goetsch C, Hückstädt L, Maresh JL, Peterson SH (2015). Comparisons and Uncertainty in Fat and Adipose Tissue Estimation Techniques: the Northern Elephant Seal as a Case Study. PloS one, 10(6). Abstract.
Lawson GL, Hückstädt LA, Lavery AC, Jaffré FM, Wiebe PH, Fincke JR, Crocker DE, Costa DP (2015). Development of an animal-borne “sonar tag” for quantifying prey availability: test deployments on northern elephant seals. Animal Biotelemetry, 3(1).
Sepúlveda M, Newsome SD, Pavez G, Oliva D, Costa DP, Hückstädt LA (2015). Using Satellite Tracking and Isotopic Information to Characterize the Impact of South American Sea Lions on Salmonid Aquaculture in Southern Chile. PloS one, 10(8). Abstract.
Hueckstaedt LA, Quinones RA, Sepulveda M, Costa DP (2014). Movement and diving patterns of juvenile male South American sea lions off the coast of central Chile. MARINE MAMMAL SCIENCE, 30(3), 1175-1183.  Author URL.
Roquet F, Wunsch C, Forget G, Heimbach P, Guinet C, Reverdin G, Charrassin J-B, Bailleul F, Costa DP, Huckstadt LA, et al (2013). Estimates of the Southern Ocean general circulation improved by animal-borne instruments. GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS, 40(23), 6176-6180.  Author URL.
Riet-Sapriza FG, Costa DP, Franco-Trecu V, Marin Y, Chocca J, Gonzalez B, Beathyate G, Chilvers BL, Hueckstadt LA (2013). Foraging behavior of lactating South American sea lions (<i>Otaria flavescens</i>) and spatial-temporal resource overlap with the Uruguayan fisheries. DEEP-SEA RESEARCH PART II-TOPICAL STUDIES IN OCEANOGRAPHY, 88-89, 106-119.  Author URL.
Fregosi S, Klinck H, Horning M, Mellinger DK, Costa DP, Mann DA, Sexton K, Huckstadt L (2013). Use of an animal-borne active acoustic tag to conduct minimally-invasive behavioral response studies. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 134(5_Supplement), 4044-4044. Abstract.
Klinck H, Horning M, Mellinger DK, Costa DP, Fregosi S, Mann DA, Sexton K, Huckstadt L (2012). Animal-borne active acoustic tags: a new paradigm to conduct minimally invasive behavioral response studies?. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 132(3_Supplement), 2009-2009. Abstract.
Hueckstaedt LA, Burns JM, Koch PL, McDonald BI, Crocker DE, Costa DP (2012). Diet of a specialist in a changing environment: the crabeater seal along the western Antarctic Peninsula. MARINE ECOLOGY PROGRESS SERIES, 455, 287-301.  Author URL.
Robinson PW, Costa DP, Crocker DE, Gallo-Reynoso JP, Champagne CD, Fowler MA, Goetsch C, Goetz KT, Hassrick JL, Hückstädt LA, et al (2012). Foraging behavior and success of a mesopelagic predator in the northeast Pacific Ocean: insights from a data-rich species, the northern elephant seal. PloS one, 7(5). Abstract.
Padman L, Costa DP, Dinniman MS, Fricker HA, Goebel ME, Huckstadt LA, Humbert A, Joughin I, Lenaerts JTM, Ligtenberg SRM, et al (2012). Oceanic controls on the mass balance of Wilkins Ice Shelf, Antarctica. JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-OCEANS, 117  Author URL.
Chilvers BL, Amey JM, Huckstadt LA, Costa DP (2011). Investigating foraging utilization distribution of female New Zealand sea lions, Auckland Islands. POLAR BIOLOGY, 34(4), 565-574.  Author URL.
Villegas-Amtmann S, Simmons SE, Kuhn CE, Huckstadt LA, Costa DP (2011). Latitudinal range influences the seasonal variation in the foraging behavior of marine top predators. PloS one, 6(8). Abstract.
Hückstädt LA, Koch PL, McDonald BI, Goebel ME, Crocker DE, Costa DP (2011). Stable isotope analyses reveal individual variability in the trophic ecology of a top marine predator, the southern elephant seal. Oecologia, 169(2), 395-406. Abstract.
Costa DP, Huckstadt LA, Crocker DE, McDonald BI, Goebel ME, Fedak MA (2010). Approaches to studying climatic change and its role on the habitat selection of antarctic pinnipeds. Integrative and comparative biology, 50(6), 1018-1030. Abstract.
Padman L, Costa DP, Bolmer ST, Goebel ME, Huckstadt LA, Jenkins A, McDonald BI, Shoosmith DR (2010). Seals map bathymetry of the Antarctic continental shelf. GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS, 37  Author URL.
Huckstadt LA, Rojas CP, Antezana T (2007). Stable isotope analysis reveals pelagic foraging by the Southern sea lion in central Chile. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL MARINE BIOLOGY AND ECOLOGY, 347(1-2), 123-133.  Author URL.
Hückstädt LA (2005). Nuevos registros de cetAceos para la VIII RegiOn, Chile (1997 a 1999). Gayana (Concepción), 69(2).
Hückstädt LA, Antezana T (2004). Behaviour of Southern sea lions in presence of killer whales during fishing operations in Central Chile. SCIENTIA MARINA, 68(2), 295-298.  Author URL.
Hückstädt LA, Krautz MC (2004). Interaction between southern sea lions <i>Otaria flavescens</i> and jack mackerel <i>Trachurus symmetricus</i> commercial fishery off Central Chile:: a geostatistical approach. MARINE ECOLOGY PROGRESS SERIES, 282, 285-294.  Author URL.
Hückstädt LA, Antezana T (2003). Behaviour of the southern sea lion (<i>Otaria flavescens</i>) and consumption of the catch during purse-seining for jack mackerel (<i>Trachurus symmetricus</i>) off central Chile. ICES JOURNAL OF MARINE SCIENCE, 60(5), 1003-1011.  Author URL.
Hückstädt L, Antezana T (2001). An observation of parturition in a stranded <i>Kogia breviceps</i>. MARINE MAMMAL SCIENCE, 17(2), 362-365.  Author URL.

Chapters

Hückstädt LA, Reisinger RR (2022). Habitat Utilization and Behavior of Phocid Seals in Relation to Oceanography. In  (Ed) Ethology and Behavioral Ecology of Phocids, Springer Nature, 127-178.
Hückstädt LA (2018). Ross Seal. In  (Ed) Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals, Elsevier, 835-837.
Hückstädt LA (2018). Ross Seal Ommatophoca rossii. In  (Ed) Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals, Elsevier, 835-837.
Hückstädt LA (2018). Weddell Seal. In  (Ed) Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals, Elsevier, 1048-1051.
Hückstädt LA (2018). Weddell Seal Leptonychotes weddellii. In  (Ed) Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals, Elsevier, 1048-1051.

Conferences

Costa DP, Huckstadt LA (2020). Incorporating the movement of Marine Megafauna is critical to developing appropriate marine protected areas.  Author URL.
Costa DP, Huckstadt LA, Schwarz L, Friedlaender A, Mate B, Zerbini A, Kennedy A, Gales NJ (2018). Assessing the Potential Exposure of Migratory Animals to Disturbance.  Author URL.
Hindle AG, Bagchi A, Batten A, Levin M, Allen KN, Huckstadt LA, Costa DP, Zapol WM, Buys ES (2018). Intrinsic anti-inflammatory properties of serum in deep-diving seals.  Author URL.
Costa DP, Huckstadt LA, Villegas-Amtmann S (2018). The Importance of Body Size in Diving Mammals: Small Marine Mammals Compensate.  Author URL.
Goetz KT, Burns JM, Huckstadt LA, Shero MR, Costa DP (2017). Temporal variation in isotopic composition and diet of Weddell seals in the western Ross Sea.  Author URL.
Costa DP, Hückstädt LA, Schwarz LK, Friedlaender AS, Mate BR, Zerbini AN, Kennedy A, Gales NJ (2016). Assessing the exposure of animals to acoustic disturbance: Towards an understanding of the population consequences of disturbance. Fourth International Conference on the Effects of Noise on Aquatic Life.
Shero MR, Pearson LE, Goetz KT, Robinson PW, Hueckstaedt LA, Costa DP, Burns JM (2013). How Weddell seals stay in shape: Using morphometric and isotopic dilution techniques to assess seasonal changes in body condition.  Author URL.
Costa DP, Crocker DE, Goebel ME, Fedak MA, Mcdonald BI, Huckstadt LA (2010). Climate Change and Habitat Selection of Seals in the Western Antarctic Peninsula.  Author URL.
Huckstadt LA, Antezana T (2006). The diet of <i>Otaria flavesceins</i> in Chile:: What do we know?.  Author URL.

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External Engagement and Impact

Advice to Government, Parliament, devolved and English regional administrations, other national, international, regional or local agencies; advice to non-government organisations and to private practice

2022 -  Natural Environment Research Council Special Committee on Seals
   
   

Editorial responsibilities

Associate Editor Marine Mammal Science

Associate Editor Frontiers in Marine Science

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Supervision / Group

Postgraduate researchers

  • Kate Chadwick
  • Meredith Goodson

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Office Hours:

My office hours are:

Mondays 2:00 - 3:00 pm

Fridays 2:00 - 3:00 pm

Or we can arrange another time to meet over email

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