She and her team have extracted protein powder from this kelp species that has functional food and potential antihypertensive activity – which means it could be a key product in helping to control blood pressure. Diane has been working in algal research for 20 years in freshwater ponds, ocean and coastal environments, and even hot springs. She is a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellow at Teagasc (Ireland’s Tea Agriculture and Food Development Authority) and the Cawthron Institute in New Zealand, and was funded on the ALGIPRO project through the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme #754380. “This is a very exciting time to be working on seaweed with such a numerous array of possible products which will I think assist in the increased growth of seaweed along our coastlines,” Diane says. Read more about her research, or follow her on X.