Georgia Thomson-Laing is an early-career researcher and molecular ecologist at Cawthron Institute in Nelson, Aotearoa New Zealand. Her research uses environmental DNA (eDNA) to understand lake ecosystems and how taonga species, including native fish, and biological communities respond to environmental change. Georgia completed a Master’s researching eel reproductive biology at the University of Otago in 2017 and a PhD at Victoria University of Wellington in 2024, using sedimentary eDNA to investigate historical changes in native fish communities. She is currently part of the Our Lakes Our Future research team and holds a Marsden Fast-Start grant investigating the extinct New Zealand grayling.