PEI CHENYA

PhD Student

Research Title: Microbial Community Activities and Mechanisms of Denitrifying Anaerobic Methane Oxidation under Tidal Dynamics and Nitrogen Inputs of Sea Level Rises in Tropical Peatlands
Research Group: Tropical Environmental Change (TEC)
Thesis Advisor: Assoc Prof Massimo Lupascu

Covering less than 3% of global land surface, peatlands store approximately one-third of the world’s terrestrial carbon, which may pose substantial potential for greenhouse gas emissions when threatened by sea level rise that introduces tidal dynamics and nitrogen inputs into coastal systems. Through PhD research, Chenya Pei will investigate how climate change and/or anthropogenic activities reshape biogeochemical processes in wetland ecosystems, with a focus on carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) cycling. Integrating field observations, laboratory experiments, bioinformatics, and machine learning-based modeling, her work aims to understand the mechanisms and feedbacks between environmental change and element dynamics across spatial and temporal scales, from local to global contexts. The findings are expected to provide new perspectives on C emissions, ecosystem resilience, and broader climate mitigation strategies, especially in tropical peatlands under sea level rises.

Chenya holds an MSc in Urban Analytics from The University of Hong Kong and a BSc in Geography from East China Normal University. Her research interests include C and N cycles, wetlands, biogeochemistry, urban data science, global climate change, and human activities. With an interdisciplinary background in geography, data analytics, communication, and education, she has gained experience in both wet-lab experimentation and computational modeling to interpret the natural processes of the earth. Beyond academia, she is passionate about publicity education in geography and science.