Our Members | PhytoPlanktonLab

Meet the Team!

Prof. Hongbin Liu (Principal Investigator)

Education

1983 B.S. Shandong College of Oceanology, China (Marine Biology)
1994 M.S. University of Hawaii at Manoa (Oceanography)
1997 Ph.D. University of Hawaii (Oceanography)

Current Position

Chair Professor
Department of Ocean Sciences and Division of Life Sciences
School of Science
Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

Dr. Zhimeng XU (Post Doctoral Fellow)

Zhimeng XU is a PhD student of Ocean Science Department, HKUST. His major was ecology since he was an undergraduate student at Ocean Unversity of China. His recent research topics focus on microbial community ecology, including diversity and assembly processes. He is familiar with molecular-based statistical analyses and is glad to make friends from all research areas.

Dr. Anirban Akhand (Post Doctoral Fellow)

I obtained my Ph.D. degree from the faculty of Science, Jadavpur University, India in 2014 on phytoplankton community dynamics and air-water CO2 flux in the estuaries and coasts adjacent to the Bay of Bengal. My research interests are carbonate chemistry and carbon cycle (inorganic and organic) in the estuaries and coasts, the air-water flux of the greenhouse gasses in the estuarine and marine systems, and blue carbon (mangroves, seagrasses, salt marshes, and macrophytes) dynamics concerning climate change. I am also interested in phytoplankton ecology, epiphytic algae, aquatic pollution, coloured dissolved organic matter (CDOM), broadly marine biology, and biogeochemistry.

Email: aakhand@ust.hk
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4239-8841

Mr. Jiawei CHEN (Ph.D Student)

I am interested in using multi-omics methods to study mechanisms underlying various ecological and biological events. I am working with different kinds of microorganisms, including cyanobacteria, mixotrophic dinoflagellate, cold-seep archaea, and viruses.

Ms. Lixia DENG (Ph.D Student)

My research interests lies in the response of marine nitrogen fixation to global climate change and other environmental stressors

Biogeography and top-down control of marine unicellular diazotrophic cyanobacteria

Ms. Mengwen PANG (Ph.D Student)

My interest is in the response of nanoplankton to global change. My study focuses on how different trophic types of dinoflagellates in the marine ecosystem react to global change, such as warming and ocean stratification.

Mr. Sangwook Lee (Scott) (Ph.D Student)

Through amplicon sequencing of DNA derived from environmental samples (often termed environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding), I study spatiotemporal changes in the Hong Kong coastal biome. In addition, ultimately, based on this, I intend to determine potential interactions in marine communities between each trophic level.

Mr. Xiaodong ZHANG (Ph.D Student)

My research focuses on the diversity and ecology of marine picocyanobacteria Synechococcus, especially the response of various pigment types under different light colors. I am also interested in the taxonomy, diversity, spatial and temporal distribution of marine phytoplankton, especially in Hong Kong coastal waters.

Ms. Xiao WANG (Ph.D Student)

Xiao WANG is a PhD student mainly focuses on microbial diversity, ecology and interactions, as well as effects of environmental variables on microbial communities, using a combination of molecular and morphological analyses of culturable microbes, and metabarcoding based on Illumina sequencing. She has a good knowledge of identification, taxonomy and phylogeny of microorganisms (especially fungi). She is also passionate about the sea, beach, sunshine and nature.

Ms. Zuyuan GAO (Ph.D Student)

Zuyuan is a marine biology and ecology student whose focuses are on zooplankton, reef ecology, and the effects of anthropogenic factors on marine organisms. Nowadays, she is examining the ecological consequences of artificial ocean alkalinization (AOA) on zooplankton (especially copepod and ciliates) growth and development while also investigating how this environmental factor may influence HK local zooplankton community structure.

Mr. Hongxing CUI (Ph.D Student)

My research interest is focused on oceanic environmental dynamics interacting with tropical cyclones using remote sensing and machine learning methods. I am also interested in the time series prediction of parameters (e.g., SST, SSH, Chla concentration) in the upper ocean.