MarBioLab offers Master’s thesis opportunities across a broad range of topics in marine biology and ecology, with the overarching aim of assessing biodiversity and ecosystem functioning through a holistic approach and finding nature-based solutions to current global challanges.

Theses will be framed within research activities spanning tropical, temperate, and polar ecosystems, from shallow coastal habitats to the deep sea, and will integrate visual census, microscopy-based and molecular approaches, including environmental DNA (eDNA) and omics, with biochemical analyses across multiple levels of biological organization, from molecules to ecosystems.

Thesis projects generally fall into two main categories. Research project-based theses are developed within ongoing national and international research programs and are closely linked to their scientific activities, field campaigns, and project timelines. Their availability therefore depends on the schedules and deadlines of the individual projects. Curiosity-driven theses address research questions of particular scientific interest to MarBioLab and provide students with the opportunity to explore novel ideas and emerging topics that are not necessarily linked to a specific funded project.

Current research topics include:

Marine biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, investigated across different environmental gradients and habitats using integrated morphological, molecular, and biochemical approaches;

Microbial ecology and marine microbiomes, with particular emphasis on host-microbe interactions and on the role of microbiomes associated with marine macroorganisms in their adaptation to environmental change and extreme conditions;

Impacts of human activities and multiple stressors on marine ecosystems, investigated through controlled laboratory experiments and field studies;

Marine ecosystem restoration, including pilot studies involving the transplantation and restoration of macroalgae, seagrasses, and corals.

Expressions of interest are currently open for Master’s thesis projects associated with the DEEP-FUN oceanographic expedition. Selected students will have the opportunity to carry out their thesis within the scientific activities of the expedition, including participation in the oceanographic campaign on board the research vessel.

Students interested in carrying out their thesis at MarBioLab are invited to submit an Expression of Interest through the Contact Us section.