Dr Kolbusz's research focuses on mixing and circulation surrounding trenches (including bottom water ventilation), water-mass characteristics, population connectivity of species (and their linkages to environmental conditions such as global abyssal circulation) and Parks Australia observatories off Western Australia; including long-term monitoring of bottom currents, water properties and sediment flux.

Jess Kolbusz is an Oceanographer at the Minderoo-UWA Deep-Sea Research Centre. Her research involves understanding the physical environment of the hadopelagic using full-depth CTD (Conductivity-Temperature-Depth) measurements, current meters and other oceanographic sensors. Synthesis of this oceanographic data contributes to understanding the ecology of trenches and the hadal zone. 

Dr Kolbusz is a transdisciplinary researcher with a BEng (Ocean Systems) and a Master's in Environmental Science (Marine Conservation and Management) from the University of Western Australia. Her PhD research focused on the role of oceanographic processes on the settlement of the Western rock lobster. Jess has been awarded the Society for Underwater Technology’s Postgraduate Award and a UWA Oceans Institute Robson and Robertson Award.