I am a PhD student in the Evolution, Cell Biology, and Symbiosis Unit at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology. My project on copepods was a result of a chance discovery. During a routine sample examination, I noticed crustaceans that I could not identify. After reaching out to crustacean specialist Alexandra Savchenko, I learned that these are in fact larval stages of monstrilloid copepods, which are rarely found in nature alive. They turned out to be parasitizing syllid polychaetes that in turn inhabit a shallow-water sponge commonly found in Okinawa. By further exploring this system, I realised that the same species of worms is actually inhabited by two different species of monstrilloids, both of which I could observe alive inside and outside the host. I was able to sequence 18S and 28S rRNA genes from them and I am now working on sequencing the mtCOI gene and other potential markers. This discovery opens up an opportunity to study monstrilloid copepod development with live material, which can be reliably sampled throughout the year. The next step in the project is to match larval stages with planktonic adults and describe all stages of the life cycle. This is a challenging task that hopefully will be completed together with my collaborators.

Even though this is only the beginning of the project, I presented the observations in an oral presentation during ICOC-2024. Getting the award was entirely unexpected for me, and I am greatly honoured. This award and the feedback I got from other researchers inspired me to continue with this project and to work towards understanding how this host-parasite system works. I am very grateful to the organisers of the 15th ICOC for giving me the opportunity to present my initial results. This was my first time to attend the copepod conference, and I had the best experience. I enjoyed being a participant of the conference, listening to a wide variety of topics, and meeting so many interesting people and potential collaborators.  I hope to meet some of them in Okinawa!

The research on monstrilloid copepods is not my main project. My PhD is focused on symbiotic protists associated with various invertebrates in Okinawan coral reefs. Attending ICOC was a nice opportunity to learn about copepods which are potential hosts for a variety of protists, from ciliates to dinoflagellates. I am very grateful to my supervisor Filip Husnik for allowing me to pursue copepod research in the lab and supporting my visit of ICOC-2024 and the pre-conference workshop. I think that staying curious and open-minded is key to uncovering new fascinating organisms and their interactions, and I am happy that my laboratory supports me in this.