Jayden Collison

I am a marine biology honours graduate possessing an undergraduate BSc. degree in biochemistry. 
I have a deep passion for the sustainability and conservation of our oceans and excel at sharing my knowledge with diverse groups of people, which lead me on the path to becoming a young marine biologist at the Two Oceans Aquarium. 

I continued to follow my love for the ocean and its marine life by qualifying as a Class IV Commercial (UK HSE Approved) diver, which enables me to do scientific, archaeological, aquarium, and aquaculture diving. This allowed me to partake in various scuba diving projects, such as National Geographic's project - Filling in the gaps: Investigating benthic faunal diversity of South Africa’s understudied coastal regions. 

I have gained a multitude of skills through my studies and internship work, such as performing extensive data analysis and modeling using statistical packages and programs. These include IBM SPSS, Excel, PRIMER, and R studio. On the genetic and biochemistry side, I am able to perform DNA extractions, agarose gel making, gel electrophoresis, and PCR. 

I believe that my experience and skills in both problem-solving and data analysis will be a valuable addition to the research/data analysis work aiding in identifying key trends to various research projects and topics. 

I have implemented taxonomy builds in my own research using marine modeling and I believe this can be implemented for topics that are integral parts of a company. I am able to produce t-tests and other forms of statistical outputs for any range of data. 

My internship as a marine biologist at the Iziko Museum in research and exhibitions has allowed me to gain several other skills that aren't necessarily associated with being a biologist. These involved cataloging specimens using SPECIFY, specimen preparation/collection/storage/preservation, genetic and biochemical practices (PCR, DNA extraction, Gel electrophoresis), procurement (ensuring that companies also fall under CSD criteria), project management (events such as Marine Week 2021 and International Museums Day 2022) and SEM microscopy work.
 

Intern Marine Biologist

• Project management for international museum day, Marine week exhibitions, and Heritage Day
• Maintnance and storage of marine collections (proper storage techniques and practices)
• Commercial and scientific Scuba Diver (Participated in various research surveys as a Diver, including a project for National Geographic)
• Research (biodiversity research of the South African Coast)
• Biochemical and genetic procedures (PCR, DNA Extraction etc)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     Two Oceans Aquarium
  - Young Marine Biologist Volunteer
  - Working and operating a microscope
  - Educating international audiences on the marine life
    around South Africa
  - Working at a touch pool with live specimens                                                                                                     -Scientific communication
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BSc (hons) Marine Biology