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Associate Professor Christina McGraw is an analytical chemist in the Department of Chemistry, Division of Sciences, at the University of Otago. She earned her BSc in Chemistry from the University of Alaska in 1999 and her MSc and PhD in Analytical Chemistry from the University of Washington, USA, between 1999 and 2004. Her career trajectory includes postdoctoral fellowships at Dublin City University (2005–2006) and the University of Otago (2006–2010), Assistant Professor of Environmental Analytical Chemistry at Clark University, USA (2011–2013), Visiting Lecturer and Biogeochemical Sensor Developer at the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, Australia (2013–2016), and Lecturer at the University of New England, Australia (2015–2016). At the University of Otago, she advanced from Senior Lecturer (2017–2023) to Associate Professor in 2023.
McGraw's research centers on developing advanced analytical instrumentation for environmental and marine applications. Her group designs molecular sensors to measure intracellular proteins, lipids, and carbohydrates, supporting studies in marine carbon sequestration, biofuel production, food, and pharmaceuticals. They create instruments to track fine-scale changes in seawater carbonate chemistry driven by ocean acidification from climate change and sensors for real-time dimethylsulfide (DMS) quantification, which influences climate regulation. McGraw contributes significantly to global ocean acidification efforts as a founding member of the Pacific Island Ocean Acidification Centre, offering technical training for monitoring programs; co-leader of experimental design resources for the Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research’s Changing Ocean Biological Systems project; member of the Ocean Acidification Research for Sustainability Policy Working Group; and mentor to researchers in Pacific Islands, Mexico, and Peru. She led the Commonwealth Blue Charter policymakers' course and handbook on ocean acidification impacts (2021–2022) and developed UNESCO’s Introduction to Ocean Acidification module (2021). Select publications include Dillingham, P. W. et al. (2025), 'The MEDDLE data analysis guides as a living resource for multiple-driver marine research,' Limnology & Oceanography Bulletin; Hale, R. et al. (2025), 'Future actions for the ocean acidification research community to support marine industries and coastal communities of Aotearoa New Zealand,' New Zealand Journal of Marine & Freshwater Research; Hashemi, S., Armstrong, E., & McGraw, C. M. (2024), 'An automated amperometric gas sensor for measurement of intercellular dimethylsulfoniopropionate in two types of macroalgae,' Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute of Chemistry Conference. Her research has received over 3,300 citations per Google Scholar.
The University of Otago and partner institutions receive over $7 million through the Coastal People: Southern Skies centre for 26 new coastal research projects across Aotearoa.
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