Tamsyne Smith-Harding

Monash University

Phone: +6188201 5184
Email: tamsyne.smith-harding@monash.edu

After completing my BSc (Hons.) at Flinders University I began my PhD in the Mitchell Laboratory in 2011. I am based at Monash University in Professor John Beardall’s Algal Ecophysiology Lab. When I am not in the lab I like to try to run (the key word here is ‘try’), attend live sporting events  (AFL and tennis), cook, try all the culinary delights Melboune has to offer and travel!

My PhD research is a collaborative effort between Flinders University and Monash University. Diatoms are the dominant marine primary producers, generating approximately 40% of the ocean organic carbon. They have an absolute silicate requirement for frustule formation. My research investigates the idea that the silica in the  frustulemay be a buffer for external carbonic anhydrase (CAext). CAext  plays a crucial role in improving the supply of CO2 for use by RubisCO, the rate-limiting step in carbon fixation. 

Qualifications
BSc (Hons.)