HyDRA is excited to welcome new team members to the project from around the world. Both Earth Sciences New Zealand (Earth Sciences NZ) and the University of Naples Federico II (UNINA) are introducing new faces to their research groups.
In HyDRA we love engaging with young scientists and supporting their career journeys, it’s one of the things that makes our project and team so rewarding, says Dr. Peter Rendel (Earth Sciences NZ)
Meet Natasha Tran and Paige Makere Cooper!
Tran (left) recently joined the Microbiology Lab at Earth Sciences NZ as a Research Assistant. She recently graduated in Biotechnology from the University of Auckland. Cooper (right) is a science-passionate high school student from Long Bay College, joining the team as a Summer Intern. Both will be working alongside Dr. Karen Houghton on exciting HyDRA- related geo-microbiological experiments.
Introducing James Raine!
Raine recently completed his Master’s in Energy Science at the University of Auckland and is spending the summer in the Experimental Geochemistry Lab at Earth Sciences NZ. He will be collaborating with Postdoc Jimmy Yang and visiting PhD student Arash Moradi from Curtin University on HyDRA-related hydrogen–water-rock interaction experiments.
Welcome, Matteo Selci!
Dr. Selci is currently a postdoctoral researcher at the UNINA, working with Prof. D. Giovannelli on the HyDRA project. His research focuses on the characterization of hydrogenotrophic microbial communities and their roles in natural hydrogen seeps and engineered underground systems.
Dr. Selci has previously conducted research worldwide, spanning Italian hot springs, Central and South American volcanic systems, permafrost drilling in the Arctic, and the exploration of hydrothermal vents and methane seeps in deep-sea environments. He recently completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Deep-Sea Microbiology Laboratory at Rutgers University in the USA, where he studied deep-sea and shallow hydrothermal systems with an emphasis on the ecological roles of chemosynthetic biofilms.
I am fundamentally interested in the processes that link the biosphere and geosphere, with a particular focus on microbial diversity and ecological function in extreme environments. In my research, I integrate comparative genomics, environmental surveys, and computational approaches to examine how microbial metabolisms structure ecosystems across local to global spatial scales, says Dr. Selci
We look forward to collaborating and growing together as a global team!
HyDRA - diagnostic tools and risk protocols to accelerate underground hydrogen storage 
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