By Helena Bryan

Not too long after high school, when Emily Darling was scuba diving in Belize, she decided “to give marine biology a go.”

Turns out, her decision was much more than a passing fancy.

Nine years later, Darling has completed her SFU PhD in biology, made groundbreaking contributions to coral reef conservation and earned the Governor General’s gold medal. The award is given out every year to the two most outstanding graduate students.

Supervisor Isabel Côté, for one, can’t say enough about Darling’s achievements, particularly her dissertation, which developed a method to help predict how coral reefs respond to multiple stressors.

“This was, in essence, a ‘holy grail’ quest,” says Côté, “and the answers that Emily provided are central to managing coral reefs for the future.”

Darling’s dissertation is only one high point among many, however. As a grad student, she was a tutorial assistant and research assistant, and helped organize several conferences and symposia. She also founded a Coral Reef Discussion Group and mentored a number of fellow students, all while earning excellent grades.

And she was just getting started. While working on her PhD, Darling received numerous scholarships and awards, including a $140k David H. Smith Conservation Research Fellowship, which she currently holds. She has presented at conferences throughout the world and published 15 papers in major journals. She also spent some time in Kenya, working with local conservation scientists and fishermen to monitor the effects of fishing and climate change on East African coral reefs.

Now at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Darling is working on a climate adaptation plan for U.S. coral reefs.

“I’m inspired to make a difference for the conservation of the world’s oceans through a career in academia, conservation work or government,” she says.

But first, she’d like to acknowledge the Earth to Oceans Research Group in SFU’s Department of Biology.

“It’s been truly an honor,” she says, “to learn from, and work with, an incredible group of graduate students, postdocs and faculty. I’m going to miss this place.”