Field
Location (during time of takeover)
School/Institution
Featured on July 10, 2022
This week, we’re joined by Kristine ‘Tin’ Buenafe, a quantitative marine ecologist and research associate at the University of Queensland.
Tin graduated cum laude with a Bachelor’s degree in Biology from the University of the Philippines Diliman. Her undergraduate thesis revolved around the application of benthic diatoms in assessing the water quality of selected rivers in Southern Leyte.
Tin then worked as a research fellow at UP Diliman’s Institute of Environmental Sciences and Meteorology, where she investigated the effects of antibiotics and other endocrine-disrupting substances in the Philippines’ river basins.
From 2019 to 2021, Tin then took up the Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degree in Tropical Biodiversity and Ecosystems—graduating summa cum laude, a plus grande distinction, and a “Best Student” award Her studies took her all throughout top universities in Europe, namely the Universite Libre de Bruxelles and Vrije Universiteit Brussel in Brussels ???????? as well as the Universita degli Studi di Firenze in Florence.
Her Master’s thesis revolved around the benefits and costs to pelagic fisheries of conservation-sensitive, climate-smart closures in the Pacific Ocean. Today, her work as a research associate similarly explores climate-smart and fisheries-focused spatial planning, applied marine conservation planning, as well as modelling the larval distribution of key economically viable fish species.
She aims to be a full-fledged quantitative marine ecologist focusing on assessing, mitigating, and adapting to the impacts of climate change on pelagic, open-ocean ecosystems.
Some fun facts about Tin:
- She is a mixed martial artist currently training in Taekwondo, but with experience in multiple arts like Boxing, Dutch kickboxing, Muay Thai, Wresting, and Karate.
- She has been in a relationship with her high school sweetheart for more than 12 years now (sana all)
- She is very scared of butterflies (more than the dreaded flying ipis!). While she definitely thinks they’re beautiful, she can only admire them in photos
