Belinda Martin

I completed a Bachelor of Science degree in Ecology at James Cook University in 2010. I then moved to Western Australia to complete my Honors at UWA in looking into how plants can help remediate soils contaminated with petroleum hydrocarbons. I then worked as a Research Officer for two years within the plant genomics group in the CSIRO. After this, I came back to UWA to complete my PhD research (2015-2019) in seagrass-micorbial relations. I am now a Post-doctoral researcher within the School of Biological Sciences and the UWA Oceans Institute working in seagrass-microbial ecology. I also co-founded a science illustration company, Ooid Scientific, and currently spend my time between illustration and research.

I am a microbial ecologist whose primary research focusses on plant health and microbial functions in ecosystems. I am especially interested in the rhizosphere environment, which is the zone of soil that is influenced by plant roots. Locally, I work closely with natural resource managers to improve our ability to respond to and manage activities that impact seagrass ecosystems. Internationally, I work with leaders in microbiome research; building capacity and drawing investment into WA in this growing field of microbiome research

- Application of novel molecular ecology techniques to track the resilience of critical coastal habitats across Western Australia 

- Understanding seagrass-microbial-sediment relationships for restoration and management

- Development of novel microbial monitoring tools

- Science illustration and graphics

- Development of novel imaging techniques for visualising soil and microbial processes