Gemma is a Lecturer in the Lancaster Environment Centre (LEC) with expertise in tropical and temperate marine ecology, coral reef biology, and coastal ecosystem conservation. She graduated from the University of Essex with a degree in Marine and Freshwater Biology and began her career lecturing in coral reef ecology in Egypt. Returning to the UK, she worked for the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas) before receiving a scholarship to study coral photobiology at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. She subsequently completed a PhD with the University of London, based at the University Marine Biological Station on the Isle of Cumbrae, Scotland, where she researched the population and behavioural ecology of marine crustaceans. Following her PhD, Gemma conducted research on coral biology and physiology with the ZMT Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research in Curaçao. She then spent five years as a Lecturer in Marine Biology at Blackpool and The Fylde College, delivering Lancaster University’s accredited Marine Biology degree programme. In 2019, Gemma joined the LEC-REEFS group as a Research Associate she was appointed Lecturer in the Lancaster Environment Centre in 2023.