CURRENT STUDENTS
STUDENT RESOURCES
CURRENT STUDENTS FAQs
For M.S. students, your advisor when you are admitted to KAUST is the Program Chair. For Ph.D. students, your advisor is your PI (supervisor) whose lab you have been accepted in to.
Yes, you can change your advisor. M.S. students are advised to do so if/when they begin their thesis or directed research. Ph.D. students do have the ability to change advisors, but the overall impact to the Ph.D. project, as well as the time left to finish the Ph.D., could be significant. This will have to be taken into account before approval.
M.S. students need 36 credits (combination of courses and research is specific to your program).
Ph.D. students need 6 credits of 300-level coursework and will earn dissertation research credit each semester until they defend (no minimum credits established, although there is a minimum residency requirement of 2.5 years).
M.S. students get all university holidays (Eid Al-Fitr, Eid Al-Adha, Spring break).
Ph.D. students get university holidays and three weeks of annual/vacation leave per calendar year to be taken in agreement with your PI.
Yes. Drop and Add deadlines are on the academic calendar.
Your GPC can help you request these from the Registrar’s Office, or you can contact them directly at RegistrarHelpDesk@KAUST.EDU.SA
Latest Events
Abstract:
My doctoral research investigates the diversity, evolution, and symbiotic relationships of the stony coral family Agariciidae in the Red Sea across depth and latitudinal gradients. By integrating genomic and morphological data, I revised species boundaries and characterized the distribution of Agariciidae corals, revealing a significant underestimation of biodiversity and endemism rates in the basin. Phylogenomic analyses of 159 coral specimens identified 23 species, including several undescribed genera and potential Red Sea endemics. In addition, high-throughput sequencing of the Symbiodiniaceae associated with Agariciidae corals uncovered depth-specific symbiont communities, highlighting the role of these associations in shaping coral distribution. Lastly, coevolutionary analyses of Agariciidae corals and their obligate gall crab symbionts revealed host-specificity and cospeciation events. These findings enhance our understanding of coral biodiversity and symbiotic relationships, providing valuable insights for conservation efforts in the Red Sea.
Bio:
Silvia is a PhD candidate specializing in the diversity and biogeography of reef-building hard corals. In particular, by integrating genetics, genomics, and morphological evidence, she is studying the composition and zonation of the family Agariciidae in the Indo-Pacific, focusing on the seas around Arabia. Under the supervision of Prof. Francesca Benzoni, she is involved in different projects addressing the study of stony corals' biodiversity, ecology, and biogeography through a multidisciplinary approach from the shallow to the mesophotic and deep environments. Before pursuing her PhD at KAUST, she earned her MSc in Biology from the University of Milano-Bicocca, following her BSc in Biological Sciences from the same institution.
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