Hannah Epstein

Hannah Epstein is an Honorary Lecturer at the School of Life Sciences, University of Essex, specializing in marine biology with a focus on coral reef ecosystems. She is based at the Colchester Campus and actively contributes to both research and teaching in her field.

Dr. Epstein's research focuses on several interconnected areas of marine science:

• Coral Reef Ecology - examining community structures and dynamics across tropical seascapes
• Microbial Ecology - investigating the complex relationships between corals and their microbial symbionts
• Tropical Marine Biology - studying biodiversity and ecological processes in warm-water marine environments
• Coral Reef Climate Resilience - exploring mechanisms that enable corals to withstand environmental stressors

Her recent publications demonstrate a strong emphasis on understanding how coral microbiomes respond to environmental stressors, particularly thermal events. Epstein's work reveals important insights into microbial transmission, coral bleaching mechanisms, and potential pathways for enhancing coral resilience through microbiome engineering. She has published extensively in high-impact journals including Animal Microbiome, Global Change Biology, and The ISME Journal.

Dr. Epstein has received recognition for her methodological contributions to coral microbiome research, particularly in developing best practices for 16S rRNA amplicon data analysis. Her interdisciplinary approach combines molecular techniques with ecological theory to address pressing conservation challenges facing coral reef ecosystems worldwide.

As an educator, Dr. Epstein teaches across multiple levels of the curriculum, from introductory marine ecology to specialized field courses in tropical marine biology. Her teaching portfolio reflects her research expertise while providing students with practical skills for marine scientific investigation.