Alaric McCarthy

Emillie Passfield

Junior Scientist – Food & Bioactives

Role at Cawthron

Emillie is a junior scientist with more than 6 years of experience in both research and commercial labs. Her speciality centres around bioactive compounds from harmful algae and their accumulation in marine organisms, with an emphasis on their potential to impact human health. She focuses on marine and freshwater biotoxin analysis, contributing to several projects that examine current and emerging risks to seafood safety.
With a strong background in analytical chemistry, Emillie employs cutting-edge liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC-MS) techniques to analyse a wide range of toxic compounds. Her work addresses crucial challenges affecting New Zealand’s shellfish industry, Pacific Island nations, and other coastal communities who rely heavily on seafood.
Emillie is driven by community level engagement. She is passionate about enabling communities with practical, rapid screening tools for food safety decision-making, through kit validation and onsite training.

Technical skills, experience and interests

  • Biotoxins in shellfish
  • Emerging marine and freshwater toxins
  • Community based research
  • Analytical Chemistry method development and troubleshooting
  • Toxic marine dinoflagellates

Qualifications

  • MSc (Geology and Geochemistry) Wollongong University (2015)
  • BSc (Geology) Victoria University of Wellington (2013)

Professional Affiliations.

  • NZFSSRC emerging scientist award (2023)
  • Queen Elizabeth II Technicians award recipient (2024)
Alaric McCarthy