Laura M. Otter

Laura M. Otter is a Research Fellow in the Research School of Earth Sciences at The Australian National University (ANU), specializing in Geochemistry. Her research focuses on biomineralization processes in marine organisms like mollusk shells, fish otoliths, corals, and pearls. She employs advanced analytical techniques including atom probe tomography, photo-induced force microscopy, and SIMS to study micro-to-nano-scale growth mechanisms and environmental applications.

Education: PhD (Biomineralization & Geochemistry, Macquarie University, 2020), M.Sc. (Geosciences, Johannes Gutenberg University & Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, 2015), B.Sc. (Geosciences, Johannes Gutenberg University, 2012).

Research Themes: Biomineralization dynamics, environmental archives in calcareous structures, and applications in aquaculture and gemology. Current projects include investigating nacre growth mechanics and developing high-resolution geochemical proxies for paleoclimatology.

Key Contributions: Over 20 peer-reviewed publications on topics like nacre microstructure, pearl formation, and oxygen isotope analyses in marine shells. Supervised student Kushani Jayasoma.