Oliver Sven Kersten

Academic interests

I started my Ph.D. at CEES in October 2018 focusing on conservation genomics of the Atlantic Puffin (Fratercula arctica). In particular, I will try to resolve an extensive gap in the spatio-temporal resolution of the genomic structure of puffin populations to eventually facilitate conservation programs by building a molecular framework that allows evaluation of short- and long-term impacts of population threats.

Prior to this Ph.D. fellowship, I was a research assistant in the MedPlag group at CEES starting in 2016, and primarily acted as a laboratory technician in the ancient DNA (aDNA) laboratory, which also led to me becoming the current on-site aDNA lab-manager.

Before my time in Norway, I obtained a M.Sc. in Marine Sciences and a B.S. in Marine Biology at Hawaii Pacific University, Hawaii, USA. During my Master’s studies I gained research experience in Marine Ecology and with a focus on the community analysis of abyssal zooplankton combining traditional taxonomic identification via microscopy with a novel metabarcoding approach.