Post by James Cook University

Obsessed with octopuses. Now decoding their genome. “I’ve always been fascinated by how nature works, and octopuses have always stood out to me. They’re so different and complex, yet underestimated. We still have so much to learn from them.” Originally from Mexico, Fernando is an Honours student in Marine Biology at JCU and part of the Marine Omics research group in Townsville and the Securing Antarctica’s Environmental Future initiative. His work focuses on assembling the first reference genome for Antarctic octopus species within the Megaleledonidae family. Outside the lab, he is warm, loving, and full of life, always looking for an excuse to travel, dive, and grow his ever-expanding vaccination collection (don’t ask). Learn more about his trajectory and projects here: https://bit.ly/4cwnKaI