Department of Biology, FACULTY OF SCIENCE

Back to Homepage

The Department of Biology currently has five full-time members of academic staff as well as a number of associate members and part-time staff. The Department also makes use of the services of visiting lecturers. We are planning to have a number of foreign lecturers participate in our teaching programme for this academic year.

Various research assistants and other researchers also work in the Department, including a number of M.Sc. and Ph.D. students. Each member of staff is actively involved in research and consultancy work. In fact we have a number of ongoing research projects and research contracts which are being undertaken in collaboration with international research consortia. The following is only a brief introduction to the academic staff and their interests and activities, and is not intended to be exhaustive.

Head of Department:

Professor Victor Axiak

His principal research interest lies in marine ecotoxicology and he supervised a number of international research projects related to marine pollution and environmental quality. One recent major project that he supervised was that in which water quality around Malta was being monitored by use of LANDSAT satellite. He has acted in a consultative capacity to various national and international bodies. He regularly publishes in scientific journals and is the author of a number of books including a text book on marine ecotoxicology.
E-Mail victor.axiak@um.edu.mt
Phone-Direct Line (+356) 2340 2850

Lecturers:

Professor Carmelo Agius

A consultant on matters relating to aquaculture and fisheries. He has worked in numerous countries and for various international agencies and has published extensively on aquaculture and in particular on fish diseases. His main areas of interest are fisheries biology, marine fish-farming technology, particularly hatchery techniques, diseases of farmed fish, and environmental impact of aquaculture.

E-Mail carmelo.agius@um.edu.mt
Phone-Direct Line (+356) 2340 2375

Mr Edwin Lanfranco

Actively involved in research and consultancy work in the botanical sciences. His research includes both marine and terrestrial vegetation and floristics, with particular reference to the Maltese Islands. He is also actively involved in the scientific aspects of conservation.

E-Mail edwin.lanfranco@um.edu.mt
Phone-Direct Line (+356) 23402379

Professor Patrick J. Schembri

Born at Birkirkara, Malta in 1954. He studied at the Lyceum Grammar School, the Royal University of Malta's Junior College, and at the University of Malta from where he graduated B.Sc. in chemistry and biology in 1975 and M.Sc. in biology in 1977. He was then awarded a Commonwealth Scholarship at the University of Glasgow, Scotland from where he obtained the Ph.D. degree in zoology in 1980. He later carried out research work at the University of Otago, New Zealand (Postdoctoral Fellowship 1981-82), at the University of Delaware, USA (Senior Fulbright Research Scholarship 1985-86), and at the University of Durham, England (Durham Research Foundation Visiting Fellowship 1992). In 1999 he was elected a Fellow of the Institute of Biology (Britain) and registered as a Chartered Biologist. In 2000 he was appointed Honorary Research Associate of the University Marine Biological Station, Millport (University of London). He is a Full Professor in the Department of Biology of the University of Malta and was Head of the department between 1992 and 1996.

His research interests are marine benthic ecology, faunistics of the Maltese Islands with particular reference to biogeography, and human impact on Mediterranean island ecosystems.

He has authored over 100 papers in refereed scientific journals and more than 150 other works including reports, conference papers, book chapters and books, as well as numerous popular articles on biological topics. (For a list of publications go to http://www.um.edu.mt/pub/pschembri.html). (For some hard to find publications on Maltese biodiversity and its conservation, and on the Maltese natural environment, click here).

He also acts as a consultant on the living natural resources and the natural environment of the Maltese Islands to a number of Government departments and agencies and to private enterprise.

E-Mail patrick.j.schembri@um.edu.mt
Phone-Direct Line (+356) 2340 2789
Fax (+356) 21323781

Dr Adriana Vella

After obtaining her Honours Degree at the University of Malta, she has specialised at the University of Cambridge (UK) in genetics, ecology, evolution and conservation at Masters level, and in population biology and conservation at Doctoral level. Subsequently she joined the Conservation Research Centre in Virginia USA for further specialisation in molecular genetics techniques applied to conservation assessment of vulnerable or endangered species. Her current research interests lie in conservation biology and conservation risk assessment. She has introduced the first courses in conservation biology at the University of Malta and offers advice and consultancy in conservation issues. Projects undertaken include the National and regional Cetacean conservation research project since 1996, Bluefin tuna research since 1998, Elasmobranchs research, Sustainable fishing and Ecotourism, mammal conservation research projects including bats and hedgehogs, Biodiversity assessments for Conservation. She is supervising work in SCGE Comet Assay technique to measure the genetic integrity of bio-indicators of habitat quality, Conservation and Population Genetics of Sharks, and Groupers amongst various other marine animals. She has presented her research works at numerous national and international conferences with subsequent publications. Few examples follow.

Dr. A. Vella is participating in the European Platform for Biodiversity Research Strategy (EPBRS) as steering committee member and is the co-ordinator of the Maltese National Biodiversity Platform which was launched as part of an EU Project. For more information refer to: http://www.maltabioplatform.org/. She is currently a partner in the Biodiversity EU project BioStrat.

She was invited to participate in the International Sperm Whale Research in 2004 more details at: http://www.um.edu.mt/pressreleases/2004/cetacean_researcher.html

She was invited to participate in the International Science Conference on Biodiversity, organized at the UNESCO Headquarters in Paris 2005. More details at:
http://www.um.edu.mt/pressreleases/2005/biodiversity_conference.html

Aspects of her long-term research project on Blue fin tuna have been presented at the first European Conservation Biology Conference:
http://www.um.edu.mt/pressreleases/2006/adrianavella_bluefintuna.html

E-Mail avel@cis.um.edu.mt
Phone-Direct Line (+356) 2340 2790

Dr. Joseph A.Borg

Obtained BSc and MSc degrees from the University of Malta, and a PhD degree from the University of Plymouth (UK). His main research interests are within the field of marine benthic ecology, particularly the ecology of Mediterranean seagrass and algal habitats. He is also involved in research on the environmental impacts of aquaculture, and crustacean ecology. In 2006 he chaired the Local Organising Committee of the Mediterranean Seagrass Workshop (MSW 2006), which was hosted by the Department of Biology (University of Malta). He is currently committee member of the Mediterranean Seagrass Association - Seagrass 2000, a non-profit association that promotes Mediterranean seagrass research, and member of international working groups, including the FAO/GESAMP Working Group on development of an Ecosystem Approach to Mariculture/Offshore Aquaculture. He publishes regularly and acts as reviewer for several leading marine biology journals. He also serves as consultant for marine environmental surveys and monitoring that are undertaken in relation to aquaculture activities and coastal development projects. For a list of his publications go to http://www.um.edu.mt/pub/jborg.html.

E-Mail joseph.a.borg@um.edu.mt
Phone-Direct Line (+356) 2340 2088
Phone-Laboratory (+356) 2340 2018

Mr. David Dandria

Studied at the University of London and is currently an academic member of staff on a part-time basis. He is experienced in Agricultural Biology, having held senior posts in the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries and in the Agricultural Co-operatives sector. His research interests include plant pest and disease management and the faunistics and biology of local terrestrial arthropods.

E-Mail robdand@maltanet.net

Research Assistants:

Ruth Guillaumier

E-Mail
ruth.guillaumier@um.edu.mt

Phone-Direct Line
(+356) 2340 2272

Mark Dimech
Mark Dimech is a part-time research assistant with the EMPAFISH project, which is a research project funded by the EU under the Sixth Framework Programme. He graduated in biology and chemistry from the University of Malta and he successfully read for a Masters degree in biology also at the University of Malta. He is currently pursuing a PhD programme in fisheries ecology at the University of Wales Bangor (U.K.) where he has been a member of the Coastal Resource Ecology and Management Group (CREAM) at the University of Wales Bangor since 2003.

To find a complete list of refereed works, please click on this link

E-Mail mdime01@um.edu.mt
Phone-Direct Line (+356) 2340 3092

Marija Sciberras
Marija Sciberras is a full-time research assistant with the EMPAFISH project, which is a research project funded by the EU under te Sixth Framework Programme. She graduated in biology and chemistry from the University of Malta and successfully read for a Masters degree in Marine Environmental Protection at the University Wales, Bangor (U.K).

For a list of refereed works, please click on this link.

E-Mail marija.sciberras@um.edu.mt
Phone Direct Link (+356) 2340 3092

Roberta Pace

Roberta Pace is a part-time research assistant attached to the Marine Ecology Research Group and working on the BENSPEFISH project (Benthic Secondary Production & Essential Fish Habitats in the Malta FMZ), partly funded by a research grant from the University of Malta.

Phone-Direct Line
(+356) 2340 3092

Julian Evans

Musuem Curator