Giulia Filippini attained her Masters in Marine Biology at the Polytechnic University of Marche (Italy), studying the interactive effects of climate change and pollutants on gene expression in the mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis. Since completing her degree, she has been awarded three scholarships (Campus World Scholarship, Sydney Institute of Marine Science Scholarship and Northern Beaches Research Funding) and worked as Research Officer at Macquarie University. During her time in this position, she investigated benthic biogeochemical processes and microbial diversity in four coastal lagoons in Sydney with different levels of urbanisation and human impact. She is currently working on her PhD, studying the role of shellfish reefs in ecosystem functions, with the final goal of delivering essential guidelines for using these organisms as bioremediation tools. Her research work will forge a novel link between direct measures of biogeochemical cycling and the microbial mechanisms driving these processes.