Yean Das

Yean Das

Marine scientist working across scales, from marine viruses to jellyfish.

Ph.D. candidate in Marine Science, University of Southern Mississippi

I am looking for postdoctoral and research positions. Get in touch

Click a bacterium or a jellyfish to see where its carbon goes.

  • Bacteria
  • Bacteriophages
  • Organic carbon
  • Jellyfish

Schematic, not to scale.

About me

I grew up in Bandarban, a mountain valley in southeastern Bangladesh, and came to the ocean through fieldwork. As an undergraduate at the University of Chittagong I volunteered on sampling for senior students’ M.S. theses, and at the end of my first year joined ShoreFORE, an oyster reef project with Wageningen University. Work with the First Institute of Oceanography (China), IUCN Bangladesh and IOC-WESTPAC followed, and led me to the gelatinous zooplankton of the Bay of Bengal. Since 2021 I have been at the University of Southern Mississippi, studying how viruses shape marine microbial communities and the flow of organic carbon.

Labs I have worked in

Path so far

  1. 2015–2017

    Kutubdia Island, Bangladesh

    First research post, monitoring the ShoreFORE oyster reef project with Wageningen University.

  2. 2018–2019

    Coastal Bangladesh

    Fieldwork on St. Martin’s Island, in the Salimpur mangrove with FIO (China), and at Nijhum Dwip with IUCN.

  3. 2019–2021

    University of Chittagong

    Jellyfish and salp taxonomy, IOC-WESTPAC reporting, and a B.S. thesis on gelatinous zooplankton.

  4. 2021–present

    Stennis Space Center, Mississippi

    Ph.D. at the University of Southern Mississippi on North Atlantic host–virus dynamics, using STRATIPHYT cruise data.

  5. 2021–2026

    Gulf of Mexico

    Research and teaching cruises on R/V Point Sur, R/V Jim Frank and R/V Pelican.

  6. 2023–2025

    Mississippi Sound

    Field campaigns on food quality for oyster larvae, within MBRACE.

Research

My broader research interest is to quantify organic carbon cycling pathways from a plankton–microbial perspective in a changing ocean. In parallel, I am interested in how climate-driven changes in ocean physics affect plankton ecology, and how organisms adapt to shifting environments.

Microbes and viruses

Viruses and microbial carbon flow in the North Atlantic

Heterotrophic prokaryotes process much of the ocean’s organic carbon, and viral lysis shapes what happens to it. Using flow cytometry and the STRATIPHYT cruise datasets (R/V Pelagia; NIOZ, The Netherlands), I quantify host and viral abundance, subpopulations and activity in spring and summer, and relate them to physical features of the water column such as stratification and eddies. These are parameters often missing from global productivity models.

Methods: Flow cytometry, Viral production assays, Multivariate statistics, R, MATLAB

Related outputs

Flow cytometry separates stained bacteria and viruses by side scatter and green fluorescence. Select a population to gate it.

Illustration of a cytogram, not real data.

Gelatinous zooplankton

Gelatinous zooplankton of the Bay of Bengal

First records from Bangladesh

Jellyfish and other gelatinous zooplankton have been historically underrepresented in biodiversity research along the Bay of Bengal coast of Bangladesh: only a handful of studies, some with doubtful identifications, have addressed them. Through a regional collaboration with IOC-WESTPAC, I learned jellyfish morphology and worked on the taxonomy and morphometric identification of scyphozoans and salps from the Bangladesh coast. This work has produced new distribution records and a contribution to the IOC-WESTPAC field guide to Western Pacific jellyfish. I continue it by mentoring students on jellyfish ecology and bloom dynamics across the northern Bay of Bengal, with researchers in Sri Lanka and Japan and at the Institute of Marine Sciences (University of Chittagong), the Bangladesh Oceanographic Research Institute, and Chattogram Veterinary and Animal Sciences University.

Methods: Morpho-taxonomy, Morphometrics, Bioinformatics analysis, Field sampling

Related outputs

Kutubdia IslandSalimpur mangroveNijhum Dwip

Select a star to see the fieldwork at that site.

Coastal and applied work

Food quality for oyster larvae in the Mississippi Sound

Within the Mississippi Based RESTORE Act Center of Excellence (MBRACE), I coordinated field sampling and quantified the biochemical quality of size-fractionated particulate organic matter, to predict nutritional constraints on oyster larvae development. The data support regional restoration centers and ecosystem modelers.

Methods: Size fractionation, Biochemical composition, Field campaigns, SOP development

Related outputs

  • Mocny et al. 2026, Benthic Ecology Meeting 2026
  • Mocny et al. 2026, GulfCon 2026
Size fractionation: particles are caught by filters of decreasing pore size, and each fraction is analyzed for biochemical quality.

Illustration, not to scale.

Coastal and applied work

Counting micro- and nanoplastics with flow cytometry

For the global NEPTUNE initiative, I co-optimized flow cytometer settings and calibration curves to enumerate micro- and nanoplastics in seawater, built a polyethylene particle-size calibration, and fit regression models in R that convert side scatter into particle size.

Methods: Flow cytometry, Calibration, Regression in R

Beads of known size give a calibration curve. A regression model then reads a particle’s size from its side scatter.

Illustration, not real data.

Publications

  1. 2025

    Heterotrophic Prokaryote Host–Virus Dynamics During Spring in the Northeast Atlantic Ocean

    Das, Y., Brussaard, C.P.D., & Mojica, K.D.A. Microorganisms, 13(11), 2474. DOI 10.3390/microorganisms13112474

  2. 2023

    Record of Crambionella annandalei Rao, 1931 from Bangladesh, with a review of the geographic distribution of the genus Crambionella (Cnidaria: Scyphozoa)

    Das, Y., Karunarathne, K.D., Roy, M., Chowdhury, M.S.N., & Sharifuzzaman, S.M. Marine Biology Research, 19(4–5), 279–293. DOI 10.1080/17451000.2023.2203500

  3. 2022

    New Distribution Record and Ecological Notes for Iasis cylindrica (Tunicata: Salpidae) in the Bay of Bengal

    Das, Y., Fuad, M.T.I., Roy, M., et al. Thalassas, 38, 87–92. DOI 10.1007/s41208-021-00364-7

  4. 2021

    Field Guide to the Jellyfish of Western Pacific (book)

    Maran, B.A.V., Aungtonya, C., Hoe, C.C., Metillo, E.B., … & Das, Y. Centre for Marine and Coastal Studies, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, Malaysia. Read the guide (PDF)

Conference talks and posters

14 conference abstracts: 7 presented by me, 7 as co-author.

  1. 2026

    Seasonal Variation of Viral Mediated Mortality of Heterotrophic Prokaryote Subpopulations in Spring and Summer in the North Atlantic Ocean Poster

    Das, Y., Brussaard, C.P.D., & Mojica, K.D.A.

    Ocean Sciences Meeting 2026, Glasgow, Scotland, UK. Abstract

  2. 2026

    Effects of Seston Particle Size, Quantity, and Quality on Successful Oyster Larvae (Crassostrea virginica) Development Co-author

    Mocny, E., Powell, E.N., Mojica, K.D.A., Zhang, X., Thomas, R., Kreeger, D., Coltman, E., Das, Y., & Hodgen, C.

    Benthic Ecology Meeting 2026, Virginia Beach, VA, USA.

  3. 2026

    Food Size and Quality Over Oyster Reefs in the Western Mississippi Sound Co-author

    Mocny, E., Powell, E.N., Kreeger, D., Coltman, E., Thomas, R., Mojica, K.D.A., Zhang, X., Das, Y., & Hodgen, C.

    GulfCon 2026, Mobile, AL, USA.

  4. 2025

    Scyphozoan Jellyfish from the Cox’s Bazar Coast: Taxonomy, Morphology and Environmental Context Co-author

    Afrin, S., Karunarathne, K.D., Das, Y., Chowdhury, S., Sultana, S., & Sharifuzzaman, S.M.

    International Conference on Marine Fisheries and Blue Innovations 2025, University of Chittagong, Chattogram, Bangladesh.

  5. 2025

    Species Composition and Seasonal Dynamics of Jellyfish (Cnidaria) along the Cox’s Bazar Coast Co-author

    Sultana, S., Karunarathne, K.D., Das, Y., Chowdhury, S., Afrin, S., & Sharifuzzaman, S.M.

    International Conference on Marine Fisheries and Blue Innovations 2025, University of Chittagong, Chattogram, Bangladesh.

  6. 2025

    Viral-Mediated Mortality of Heterotrophic Prokaryotes in the Northeast Atlantic Ocean Oral

    Gulf Coast Graduate Student Symposium 2025, Gulf Coast Research Laboratory, Ocean Springs, MS, USA.

  7. 2024

    Heterotrophic Prokaryote Host-Viral Dynamics During Spring Stratification in the Northeast Atlantic Ocean Oral

    Department of Marine Science Fall 2024 Seminar, University of Southern Mississippi, Stennis Space Center, MS, USA.

  8. 2024

    Heterotrophic Prokaryote Host-Viral Dynamics During Spring Stratification in the Northeast Atlantic Ocean Poster

    Das, Y., Brussaard, C.P.D., & Mojica, K.D.A.

    Ocean Carbon and Biogeochemistry Summer Workshop 2024, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA, USA.

  9. 2024

    Heterotrophic Prokaryote Host-Viral Dynamics During Spring Stratification in the Northeast Atlantic Ocean Oral

    Graduate Student Research Symposium 2024, University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS, USA.

  10. 2024

    Jellyfish Biodiversity in the Southeast Coast of Bangladesh Co-author

    Sultana, S., Karunarathne, K.D., Das, Y., Chowdhury, S., & Sharifuzzaman, S.M.

    2nd UN Ocean Decade Regional Conference & 11th WESTPAC International Marine Science Conference, Bangkok, Thailand.

  11. 2024

    Heterotrophic Prokaryote Host-Viral Population Dynamics in Response to Alterations in Water Column Stratification During Spring in the Northeastern Atlantic Ocean Poster

    Das, Y., Brussaard, C.P.D., & Mojica, K.D.A.

    Ocean Sciences Meeting 2024, New Orleans, LA, USA. Abstract

  12. 2024

    Species Composition of Jellyfish in Coastal Waters of Cox’s Bazar Co-author

    Sultana, S., Chowdhury, S., Karunarathne, K.D., Das, Y., & Sharifuzzaman, S.M.

    International Conference on Oceanography 2024, Bangladesh Oceanographic Research Institute, Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh.

  13. 2024

    Morphometric Notes on a Swarm-Forming Jellyfish Species, Acromitus flagellatus (Cnidaria: Scyphozoa) Co-author

    Afrin, S., Das, Y., Karunarathne, K.D., Chowdhury, S., & Sharifuzzaman, S.M.

    International Conference on Oceanography 2024, Bangladesh Oceanographic Research Institute, Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh.

  14. 2022

    Documenting Marine Gelatinous Zooplankton (Salp, Jellyfish) Diversity from Bangladesh Poster

    Das, Y., Karunarathne, K.D., & Sharifuzzaman, S.M.

    IEEE Ocean Engineering Society USM Chapter Poster Competition, Marine Education Center, Gulf Coast Research Laboratory, Ocean Springs, MS, USA.

Experience

Research positions

  1. Aug 2021 – present

    Graduate Assistant, Marine Microbial Ecology Lab

    School of Ocean Science and Engineering, University of Southern Mississippi

  2. Summer 2026

    Summer Research Assistant, NEPTUNE: Nano- and Microplastic Environmental Profiling Through a Unified Network of Expeditions

    School of Ocean Science and Engineering, University of Southern Mississippi

  3. Nov 2023 – Dec 2025

    Graduate Assistant, Mississippi Based RESTORE Act Center of Excellence (MBRACE)

    University of Southern Mississippi

  4. May 2023 – Jul 2023

    Research Assistant, Coastal Evolution and Hazard Research Lab

    School of Ocean Science and Engineering, University of Southern Mississippi

  5. May 2022 – Jul 2022

    Summer Graduate Assistant, Marine Geochemistry Lab

    School of Ocean Science and Engineering, University of Southern Mississippi

  6. Mar 2019 – Aug 2021

  7. Jul 2019 – Aug 2019

    Summer Intern, International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)

    Dhaka, Bangladesh

  8. Sept 2015 – Aug 2017

    Research Assistant, OiLab (formerly ShoreFORE), Institute of Marine Sciences

    University of Chittagong

At sea and in the field

8 research cruises in the Gulf of Mexico aboard R/V Pelican, R/V Point Sur and R/V Jim Frank, 2021–2026, as a sampling-team member, team lead and instructor: CTD and Niskin sampling, in situ pumps, multicoring, plankton tows and shipboard viral production experiments.

Coastal fieldwork in Bangladesh from 2015 to 2021, including seven days a month at Kutubdia Island for the ShoreFORE oyster reef project (2015–2017) and expeditions to St. Martin’s Island, the Salimpur mangrove and Nijhum Dwip.

Instruments, from field to lab

At sea and in the field

  • Sea-Bird CTD rosette
  • In situ pumps
  • Multicorer
  • Sediment grabs and corers
  • Plankton nets
  • Handheld multiparameter water-quality meters
  • Seismic data collection

In the laboratory

  • Flow cytometers (FACS Celesta, FACS Calibur)
  • Epifluorescence microscope
  • Fluorometer
  • Spectrophotometer
  • Seal AA3 SFA nutrient analyzer
  • ICP-MS
  • Mastersizer 3000 particle analyzer
  • Environmental test chamber

Software and data analysis

  • R
  • MATLAB
  • FCS Express, FlowJo, FCSalyzer
  • SBE Data Processing, SeaSave
  • Ocean Data View

Teaching and mentoring

  1. Aug 2022 – May 2026

    Teaching Assistant (5 semesters), University of Southern Mississippi

    Taught lab sections for five courses over five semesters, instructing 28 students (15 undergraduate, 13 graduate) in marine geology, marine science, biological oceanography and advanced field methods.

    Courses taught (5)
    • MAR 511L (Spring 2026) – Special Topics in Marine Science – Advanced Field Methods in Marine Science (graduate; 5 students)
    • MAR 121L (Fall 2025) – Introduction to Marine Geology (undergraduate; 10 students)
    • MAR 591L (Spring 2025) – Special Topics in Marine Science – Advanced Field Methods in Marine Science (graduate; 6 students; renumbered MAR 511L in 2026)
    • MAR 600L (Spring 2023) – Biological Oceanography Lab (graduate; 2 students)
    • MAR 300L (Fall 2022) – Introduction to Marine Science Lab (undergraduate; 5 students)

  2. Aug 2019

    Lab Instructor, Bangladesh Maritime University

    Demonstrated standardized laboratory protocols for microalgae culture and supported marine ecology lab sessions for 20+ undergraduates.

  3. Aug 2021 – present

    Research Mentor, University of Chittagong

    Mentor 3 graduate (M.S. thesis) and 5+ undergraduate (final-year research paper) students in research design, conference presentations and manuscript preparation on marine biodiversity, morphometrics and microbial ecology.

Service

  1. May 2026 – present

    Member, Early Career Peer Reviewer Training Program Task Force

    Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation (CERF)

    Developed a training program for early-career peer reviewers, designed to support their professional development and increase the quantity and quality of reviewers for Estuaries and Coasts.

  2. Sep 2025 – present

    Member, Student Resources and Activities Committee (3-year term)

    Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography (ASLO)

  3. Oct 2025 – present

    Senate Member, Gulf Park Student Government Association

    University of Southern Mississippi

  4. Aug 2022 – Jul 2024

    Treasurer, IEEE Ocean Engineering Society Student Chapter

    University of Southern Mississippi

Peer review

  1. 2026

    Estuaries and Coasts (CERF)

  2. 2024

    Marine Biology Research (Taylor & Francis)

Selected awards

  1. 2026

    Dissertation Completion Grant Award, Graduate School, University of Southern Mississippi

  2. 2024–2026

    4 travel awards: Graduate Spring Travel Award, University of Southern Mississippi (2024, 2026); College of Arts and Sciences Graduate Student Travel Award, University of Southern Mississippi (2025); Summer Research Workshop Travel Grant, Ocean Carbon and Biogeochemistry, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (2024)

  3. 2023

    Marine Science Scholar Fellowship (2023–24 cohort), Department of Marine Science, University of Southern Mississippi

  4. 2022

    2nd Runner-up, IEEE Ocean Engineering Society USM Chapter Poster Competition

Education

  1. Aug 2021 – present (expected 2027)

    Ph.D. Candidate in Marine Science

    University of Southern Mississippi, Stennis Space Center, MS, USA

    Dissertation (in progress): Heterotrophic Prokaryote Host-Viral Dynamics in the North Atlantic Ocean

  2. Dec 2025

    M.S. in Marine Science

    University of Southern Mississippi, Stennis Space Center, MS, USA

  3. Jun 2021

    B.S. (Honors) in Marine Science

    University of Chittagong, Chattogram, Bangladesh

    Thesis: Taxonomic Identification of Marine Gelatinous Zooplankton in the Northern Bay of Bengal

Contact

I am looking for postdoctoral and research positions. The best way to reach me is by email.