Marissa is a palaeontologist and geologist. Her favourite part of the geological timescale is the early Cambrian (542 – 509 million years ago). This interval captures one of the most astonishing biological events in Earth’s history; the Cambrian “Explosion” of life.

Marissa gained a BSc in Geology and Palaeontology at Macquarie University, Sydney in 2010, and completed an Honours in 2012, investigating some of the world’s oldest animal-built reefs. Her PhD (2016), used fossils, rocks and geochemistry to refine the geological timescale and earned her a Vice Chancellor’s Commendation for Academic Excellence.

In 2017, she was awarded a Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of New England where she has investigated the Cambrian of South Australia, Antarctica, Canada, China and Mongolia. In 2022, she was awarded an Australian Research Council (ARC) Discovery Early Career Researcher Award to study the relationship between the positions of ancient continental plates and the first complex animals. Her work also spans timescale development, fossil preservation mechanisms and palaeobiological reconstructions of some of the most enigmatic ancient organisms. She has described ten new fossil species, significantly increasing knowledge of Australia’s ancient biodiversity.

Marissa is an enthusiastic teacher and science communicator. She has been a NSW Young Tall Poppy, and awarded the A.H. Voisey and Walter Howchin medals from the Geological Society of Australia. She directed the award-winning short documentary film Rola[Stone] that explores the relationship between geoscience and First Nations culture on Anaiwan Country.