Prof. Alan Deidun, a marine biologist by training, is Malta’s first-ever Ocean Ambassador. He directs the Malta Training Centre of the International Ocean Institute (IOI) and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology (London). He is also a Full Professor within the Faculty of Science of the University of Malta, where he coordinates the Master of Science in Applied Oceanography course and acts as the Rector’s Delegate on the SEA-EU 2.0 (University of the Sea) alliance, which features a Consortium of nine European Universities. He has served as a Board member of the Environment and Resources Authority (ERA) of Malta between February 2016 and May 2021, since September 2019 has served as a member of the EU Commission’s Ocean Mission Board. and, since 2018, is the Maltese national delegate for CIESM (the International Science Commission for the Mediterranean). He is a national and European ocean literacy and citizen science champion, being twice featured on EuroNews and in leading European newspapers, being bestowed in 2021 with the National Order of Merit recognition by the President of Malta for his efforts. Prof. Alan Deidun has published over 210 peer-reviewed papers and contributions in high-profile academic journals as well as in conference proceedings and his academic work has currently been cited over 3500 times (H index of 32). Since 2005, he has acted as a freelance marine ecology consultant on numerous EIA and AA studies linked with a considerable number of proposed, high-profile coastal and marine projects in the Maltese Islands and in Libya. Prof. Deidun has participated as Principal Investigator for the University of Malta in numerous EU-funded projects within ENI-CBCMED, Interreg, FP7, Horizon 2020, COST and Erasmus+ frameworks, having attracted over 5 million euros to the same University through such endeavours. In 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2017, he was presented with the Environmental Journalism Award for Malta by the Institute of Maltese Journalism for the environmental column he has penned in The Sunday Times of Malta since 2002.
Deidun, A. & Vella, P. Marine ecological considerations of cruise liner facilities development at two sites in the Maltese Islands. Journal of Coastal Research.
Pavesi, L., Deidun, A., DeMatthaeis, E., Tiedemann, H., Ketmaeir, V. Mitochondrial DNA and microsatellites reveal significant divergence but little geographic structure in the beachflea Orchestia montagui (Talitridae: Amphipoda). Aquatic Science.
Cilia., D. & Deidun, A. Branching out: mapping the spatial expansion of the Lessepsian invader mytilid Brachidontes pharaonis (Fischer, 1870) around the Maltese Islands. Marine Biodiversity Records.
Research work in progress:
- development of coupled BFM-POM 2D model for Dwejra area; - comparative morphometric and molecular study of the alien pearl oyster species Pinctada radiata; - comparative analyses of sediment size parameters through 3 different techniques; - characterisation of local beach meiofaunal assemblages
Affiliations and memberships: Society of Biology of London (Chartered Biologist) Marine Biological Association on the UK Estaurine, Coastal and Shelf Science Association (ECSA) Societa Italiana di Biologia Marina (SIBM)
Awards:
2007
Winner of the JCI (Junior Chamber International) Award for Moral and/or Environmental Leadership Category
2008
Winner of the Prix d'Honneur for Natural History Journalism by the NGO Din L-Art Helwa
2009
Winner of the prestigious Young Outstanding Person of the Year Award for Malta 2009; Winner of the JCI (Junior Chamber International) Award for Moral and/or Environmental Leadership Category
2009
Winner of the Prix d'Honneur for Natural History Journalism by the NGO Din L-Art Helwa
2010 Environmental Journalism Award (1st place), within annual Malta Journalism Awards organised by the Institute of Maltese Journalism
