As an Ichthyologist, my research interests are focused on the phylogenetics, taxonomy, and systematics of fishes in the Syngnathidae family (seahorses, seadragons, pygmy pipehorses, and pipefish). In pursuit of my interest I combine several lines of research involving considerable field and lab work in collaboration with fellow international syngnathid researchers, including: phylogenetic studies based on multi-gene and next generation sequencing to resolve the evolutionary relationships of these unique fishes at the generic and species level; the collection of syngnathids via scuba and seining from Australia, New Zealand, the South Pacific, and South Africa; the description of new species of syngnathids based on genetics and morphology, the latter being examined by powerful CT scans to reveal novel diagnostic characters. In 2018, I described the new pygmy seahorse from Japan, Hippocampus japapigu, which has been featured online by National Geographic and BBC. This seahorse has also been recognised by the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) for Taxonomist Appreciation Day, and featured in the TOP 10 Marine Species of 2018. https://blog.pensoft.net/2019/03/19/worms-top-10-marine-species-2018-zookeys-journal-scores-5-10-in-the-prestigious-yearly-list/. I launched Sciworthy.com, a new science news platform for scientists to summarize and share their scientific research papers to the general public.I have startup fever, at the ideation stage for a new platform for the science community!