Associate Professor Sophie Leterme
Associate Professor
College of Science and Engineering
I joined Flinders University in 2006 as a post-doctoral researcher to work on the ecology of the Coorong wetlands, focusing on the impact of environmental change on microbial and plankton communities. I took on a Lecturer position at Flinders University in 2008 and furthered my research on the adaptation of plankton to salinity fluctuations that was funded by the ARC through a Discovery Project.
I was the deputy node leader of SA-IMOS (South Australian Node of IMOS (Integrated Marine Observing System)) for 2009-2015, leading the biological program of SA-IMOS. I was promoted to Senior Lecturer (2013) and developped my research on the impact of microbial communities in the biofouling of desalination plants which was funded by the National Centre of Excellence in Desalination - Australia (NCEDA).
I became an Associate Professor at Flinders University in 2016.
My research focuses on aquatic microbes through 2 principal research streams: (1) Effects of environmental change (i.e. drought, acidification, eutrophication) on plankton biology and ecology, with a special focus on diatoms and copepods and (2) Studies of biofilm formation in aquatic systems, including water treatment and desalination plants.
- Graduate Certificate in Higher Education from Flinders University (conferred in 2017).
- PhD in Marine Biology at the University of Plymouth, UK - Impact of climate and physical processes on phytoplankton dynamics
- Master in Biological Oceanography at l'Universite Pierre & Marie Curie - Paris VI, France - Spatial and temporal variability of particles between 1 and 1200µm in the North Atlantic Ocean (Cruises POMME)
- Honours in Marine Biology (First Class) at l'Universite des Sciences & Technologies de Lille I , France - Microscale variability of Phytoplankton biomass in a high-hydrodynamic coastal ecosystem
- BSc in Biology at l'Universite des Sciences & Technologies de Lille I, France - Long distance dispersal of the brown algae Turbinaria ornata (Fucale) invading Coral reefs of French Polynesia
Honours/Awards
Visiting Professor (Universite de Toulon & USTL, France) 2018
ACSR-YSEP Fellowship (IOCAS Qingdao, China) 2014, 2015
Visiting Research Fellowship (Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology) 2007
FR3CE Visiting Scholar Fellowship (Flinders University) 2006-2007
Selected Recent Major Grants
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Australian Institute of Nuclear Science and Engineering (AINSE) Research Award ALNGRA15036 Leterme, Impact of acidification on the uptake of trace metals by diatoms. (2014)
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AINSE Research Award ALNGRA14027 Leterme & Popelka-Filcoff, Impact of drought conditions on the uptake of trace metals by diatoms. (2013)
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BP funded GAB Science Plan - Project Proposal 2.1. Van Ruth et al., Spatial and temporal variability in the shelf microbial and plankton communities in the Great Australian Bight. (2013-2017)
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Integrated Marine Observing System - Collaborative Research Infrastructure Scheme (IMOS – CRIS) Middleton et al., Australian National Mooring Network (ANMN)–SAIMOS Mooring sub-facility, Shelf and slope moorings, field surveys and associated analyses to produce data streams. (2013)
- ARC LEIF, Project LE130100115 Prideaux et al., Confocal microscope for high-resolution microtopographic analysis of surfaces in historical, forensic and polymer sciences. (2012)
- National Centre of Excellence in Desalination Australia (NCEDA), Project 08313 Leterme et al., Assessing the biofouling role of microbes in the desalination system; from the intake pipe to the reverse osmosis membranes.(2011-2015)
- ARC Discovery, Project DP110101679 Leterme et al., Primary Producers; morphological flexibility under environmental constraints. (2010-2013)
- NCEDA, Project 07631 Leterme et al., Nanostructure of Diatoms: A predictive model for species sustainability.(2010-2012)
- IMOS - Education Investment Funds (EIF) Middleton et al., Australian National Mooring Network (ANMN), SAIMOS Mooring sub-facility, Shelf and slope moorings, field surveys and associated analyses to produce data streams. (2010-2013)
- Fisheries Research & Development Corporation (FRDC) Project 2009/046 Middleton et al., Carrying capacity of Spencer Gulf: Hydrodynamic and Biogeochemical measurement modelling and performance monitoring. (2009-2012)
My current research focuses on the dynamic of plankton communities in various ecosystems such as coastal waters, continental shelf, upwelling zones and estuaries (Coorong).
My work includes different aspects of the effect of environmental changes on plankton biology and ecology, with a special focus on diatoms and copepods.
I also work on the environmental impacts of desalination plants as well as on biofouling issues within desalination systems, focusing on bacteria, picoplankton and phytoplankton.
Supervision of Honours, Master and postgraduate research students
National Centre of Excellence in Desalination Australia PhD Scholarship - JUN 2012
National Centre of Excellence in Desalination Australia PhD Scholarship -
Editorial Boards
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Scientific Reports – Nature
Society Membership
- Australian Marine Sciences Association (AMSA)
- Membrane Society of Australasia (MSA)
Government Engagement
- Member of the Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS) steering committee 2008 -
- Member of the Marine Innovation Southern Australia (MISA) advisory committee 2014 -
- Biology
- Climate
- Marine science
- Microbiology
- Oceanography
- Salinity
- Desalination:
Sturt Rd, Bedford Park
South Australia 5042
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