Denis is an interdisciplinary marine scientist with a focus on knowledge transitions, coral reefs and conservation. He holds an undergraduate degree in environmental science and – hydrology and a Master’s in marine biology. For his Master’s thesis research, Denis investigated multilevel eutrophication effects on coral reef benthic communities in the Red Sea (Saudi Arabia). Later, he joined the European Institute for Marine Studies in Brest (France) investigating how data can be shared more efficiently, as well as the French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development (France) where he focused on South Pacific fisheries management. Denis’ PhD project Connecting science with policy and practice: Lessons from science-policy ‘Bright Spots’ aims to empirically evaluate successful science-policy-practice transitions and generate knowledge and guidance from such positive examples.