Centre for Marine Biodiversity & Biotechnology

Determination and analysis of marine biodiversity is essential to the understanding and management of environmental issues and the development of new biology-based (biotechnological) industries, both crucial to modern industrialised society.

Recent advances in molecular genetics have opened new avenues of approach to traditional taxonomic studies based on anatomy and morphology and it is clear that the power of molecular systematics is being increasingly appreciated by zoologists and botanists working with marine flora and fauna.

Molecular genetics also has a role to play in pollution studies and can provide a better understanding of the reactions of species and populations to environmental insult in terms of both short- and, more importantly, long-term impacts.

The Centre for Marine Biodiversity and Biotechnology (CMBB) was created with a Research Development Grant from the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council in 1999. Its purpose is to establish a unit for combining a variety of traditional studies with molecular genetic analysis of marine organisms that could be applied to taxonomic problems, monitoring marine pollution and the biotechnical exploitation of naturally occurring substances. 

Opportunities in Marine and Climate Change research at Heriot-Watt University

Heriot-Watt is investing significant resources into the areas of Marine and Climate Change research, through its multidisciplinary Environment and Climate Change Theme and its leading role in the Scottish Marine Pooling Initiative, Marine Alliance for Science & Technology, Scotland.

Furthermore, Heriot-Watt University is creating 20 professorial and associated academic posts across a range of disciplines. Building on our position as a leading research and knowledge transfer institution, as outlined in our Focus on the Future strategy, we seek research leaders and ambitious early career researchers to lead and drive research in key inter-disciplinary themes, including Marine and Climate Change research.