Helena Reinardy

Dr. Helena Reinardy serves as a Teaching Fellow and Researcher in Aquaculture at the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS), part of the University of the Highlands and Islands, while holding an Adjunct Associate Professor position at the University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS). She co-leads the Dynamic Coasts research area at SAMS, focusing on marine environmental change impacts through interdisciplinary collaborations with industry, government, and international partners.

Her academic foundation includes a PhD in 'Relating genotoxicity to DNA repair and reproductive success in zebrafish exposed to environmental toxicants' from Plymouth University (2012), an MRes in Applied Fish Biology (2008), and a BSc (Hons) in Marine and Environmental Biology from the University of St Andrews (2005).

Reinardy's research investigates complex interactions between marine organisms and multi-stressor environments, specializing in climate change drivers (warming, acidification, deoxygenation) and anthropogenic pollutants (oil, metals, pharmaceuticals, nanoparticles). She employs cross-disciplinary methodologies spanning epigenetics and molecular toxicology to physiology, reproduction, and survival across fish, echinoderms, and zooplankton. Her work bridges fundamental science with applied outcomes for aquaculture, fisheries management, and regulatory toxicology.

Analysis of her recent publications reveals a pronounced Arctic focus, with increasing investigation into cumulative stressor effects on polar species. Her work demonstrates methodological evolution from single-stressor toxicology toward integrated multi-level assessments of organismal resilience, particularly in copepods and sea urchins under climate change scenarios.

• Senior Fellow HEA (Higher Education Academy)

She mentors PhD candidates Fengjia Liu (ecotoxicological impacts of chemical discharge) and Angus Taylor (multistressor effects on sea urchin regeneration), while leading major projects including SPILLS (Crown Estate Scotland), ExPANDin2 (SAIC/SSPO), and CLEAN (Fram Centre). Her grant portfolio spans environmental risk assessment of mine tailings, Arctic oil spills, salmon parasite interactions, and pharmaceutical impacts on marine ecosystems.

As co-leader of SAMS' Dynamic Coasts research area, she integrates field studies, laboratory experiments, and modeling approaches within a collaborative network spanning Norwegian, UK, and international institutions to address coastal ecosystem vulnerability.