Betta is a PhD candidate at the Duke Marine Lab, her background is in Marine Biology and Maritime Spatial Planning. Her academic experience includes studies in invertebrate’s biology and phylogenetic, maritime geopolitics, marine spatial planning carried out across Europe, Australia, and US.

Her PhD currently focuses on deep-sea hydrothermal vents in the context of deep seabed mining on the science-policy interface. Her final aim is to inform policy and decision-making processes with the best available science and best practices examples to implement the use of Area Based Management Tools to protect and manage the deep-sea environment. With the technical team of the Marine Geospatial Ecology Lab, she has been involved in the recent Workshops of the International Seabed Authority for the development of the Regional Environmental Management Plans on the Area.