PhD defense: Congratulations Dr Brinch-Iversen!

On 17 February 2026, Leah successfully defended her PhD with a presentation entitled “Blue carbon from brown algae: The fate of macrophyte-derived dissolved organic carbon.”

It was a fittingly wintry day in Odense, with snow outside adding to the atmosphere. The occasion was made even more special by visits from Leah’s family from Scotland and Malta, who joined us to celebrate this important milestone.

The evaluation committee was expertly chaired by Peter Stief (University of Southern Denmark) and included Lasse Riemann (University of Copenhagen) and Jutta Niggemann (University of Oldenburg). We are very grateful to the committee for a thorough, fair and engaging discussion of this fascinating and important topic.

Leah’s PhD research focused on the release and bioavailability of dissolved organic carbon from marine macrophytes and its broader relevance for marine carbon cycling.

She will now continue as a Postdoctoral Researcher in a joint initiative between LUMEN and HADAL, investigating the bioavailability of dissolved organic carbon released by key primary producers and how its degradation dynamics change under high-pressure conditions.

We look forward to following the next stage of Leah’s research and wish her all the very best as a newly minted PhD.