GDN (Gibbs) Kuguru, MSc

I am a PhD candidate at Animal Breeding & Genomics (ABG) and Marine Animal Ecology (MAE). My thesis is about the effects of inbreeding on a wild population of Blacktip Reef Sharks in the Maldives which includes fieldwork and labwork.

Career in Science:

I did my BSc in Pre-Medical Sciences at John Brown University (Siloam Springs, Arkansas; USA) and my MSc in Genetics at Stellenbosch University (Stellenbosch, South Africa). After a trip to Europe, I stumbled across Wageningen University & Research which sparked my interest to apply for a PhD in Genomics. In 2020 received the Africa Talent Grant which fully funded my PhD for four years.

Ancilliary Activities:

I've been working with sharks for over a decade which began at a cage diving company in South Africa working with Great White Sharks. I'm now using my experiences with sharks as a part-time TV presenter at National Geographic.