Kit Magellan

My name is Kit Magellan and I am the only Research Professor at the University of Battambang in Cambodia (and probably the only one in Cambodia). I obtained my PhD at the University of St Andrews in Scotland, followed by academic positions at Rhodes University (South Africa), the University of Girona (Spain) and The University of Hong Kong (Hong Kong SAR). My publications can be found at: https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C5&q=Kit+Magellan&oq=k

I have been studying aquatic ecology for 18 years and invasion ecology for 10 years. While my main model species are fish, in particular the ubiquitous mosquitofish, I am fascinated by all ecology and especially the interactions between invasive and native species. My tenure as an Associate Editor and then Editor in Chief of the international peer reviewed journal, Aquatic Invasions (https://www.reabic.net/journals/ai/About.aspx), together with my global research experience, has provided a solid grounding and wide knowledge base for aquatic invasions.

OK, all of the above sounds great, but it’s a bit dry hey. Why am I here and why do I want to do this project? I am passionate about science and I believe everyone has a right to education. I also strongly believe that the scientific world lacks diversity and may overlook important research because of where it is done. I came to Cambodia to promote science and to try to address this bias. This project is an unexpected step towards this goal. This is classic science – observation of a phenomenon, research to get background and formulate hypotheses, then collection and analysis of data to test those hypotheses. I am enjoying the thrill of discovery and I want to bring this same thrill to people here and to demonstrate that good ecological research can come from a developing country. Overall, this will be challenging, but the biggest challenges bring the greatest rewards!

November 2020