Anthony Murphy-Neilson

3rd year graduate student, Marine Science

Fulbright US Student Program

Anthony is a graduate student studying marine science in Dr. Brad Peterson's community ecology lab. His work focuses on the susceptibility of eelgrass to seagrass wasting disease, and how that interaction changes with heat stress. He will be finishing his Master's degree in May. Outside of academics, he is a passionate musician, playing bass with the Stony Brook Symphony Orchestra, various student music groups, and bands around Long Island.

For his Fulbright Research award to Spain, he has proposed a seagrass research and restoration study in the Canary Islands. Should he win the award, he will spend nine months in Gran Canaria investigating the effect that artificial reef structures have in protecting the unique seagrass of that region from the physical disturbance of severe storms. He hopes to also film a short documentary about his work to help introduce the world to the beautiful and charming world of seagrass ecosystems.

He is very interested in immersing himself in another culture, especially one as unique as the Canary Islands. The opportunity to live and work with a whole island of people who share his love of nature and the outdoors is very exciting to him, and getting to explore the underwater world of the Canaries would be an extraordinary experience.

Anthony is a part of the SoMAS Graduate Student Club, Stony Brook Symphony Orchestra, Stony Brook Broadway Orchestra, and Stony Brook Chamber Orchestra on campus.