The Payne Lab
WHO
WE ARE
Postdoc Opportunity!!! If you are interested in joining the Paynelab through the recently-funded MSDM Fellowship project, see the job advert and website for application details. Deadline is 10 Oct
© Andrew Fox
The Team
Dr. Nick Payne
Associate Professor, School of Natural Sciences - Trinity College, Dublin
Dr Nicholas Payne is a marine biologist based in Dublin, Ireland. His group mostly explore how environmental variation regulates the distribution and behaviour of aquatic animals. Nick has studied a broad range of species – from sharks to cuttlefish – and objectives spanning biogeography to biomechanics. His team often uses novel technologies to record the movements and behaviour of wild animals, and is increasingly interested in how such approaches can be informative for understanding species distributions, and thus for managing and conserving our fisheries resources.
Dr. Thaya M. Dinkel
Postdoctoral Research Fellow - Trinity College, Dublin
Thaya Dinkel is a marine ecologist and fisheries scientist whose work sits at the intersection of animal behaviour, movement ecology, and the conservation of large marine vertebrates. She is currently a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Payne Lab, contributing to TUINNIN-IN, a collaborative project exploring the spatial distribution, ecological importance, and sustainable management of Atlantic Bluefin tuna in Irish waters.
Thaya has worked with sharks, sea turtles, cetaceans, and manatees across the Atlantic, Baltic, Mediterranean, and Caribbean, with a particular focus on how these species interact with fisheries, including bycatch mitigation and the practical realities of working alongside fishing communities. She has also brought this work into the policy arena, including roles at the European Parliament's Fisheries Committee and the ICES working group on bycatch
Grace McNicholas
PhD Student - Trinity College, Dublin
Grace commenced her PhD in 2021 on a project exploring the ecology of Irish tunas. Grace's project is funded by a Marine Institute Cullen Fellowship, and will address the movements, foraging behaviour and physiology of several species of tuna. Grace's primary supervisor is Nicholas Payne (TCD) and secondary supervisors are Andrew Jackson (TCD) and Niall O'Maoileidigh (MI)
