Heidi M. Luter

I have a background in sponge ecology and microbiology. I completed my PhD in 2012 at James Cook University where I focused on the effects of disease and environmental stressors on the microbial community of a common marine sponge. My first postdoctoral fellowship was through the North Australia Marine Research Alliance (NAMRA) based at Charles Darwin University. During this fellowship, I investigated the impacts of water quality in Darwin Harbour on the sponge holobiont (sponge host & microbial associates), with a focus on the potential functional roles of sponge-associated microbes in the nitrogen cycle. In 2016, I took a postdoctoral position at Victoria University at Wellington where I worked on a collaborative project with the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) examining transgenerational adaptation of sponges in a changing environment. In 2018, I commenced a Research Scientist position at AIMS working on environmental impacts with research projects examining the molecular responses of early life stages of sponges and corals to priority contaminants such as hydrocarbons, as well as developing novel methods for microbial ecotoxicology.