Jialing is an underwater photographer and science communicator drawn to the ocean's smallest and most overlooked creatures - plankton. Her work has been featured by National Geographic, BBC, and China Central Television. She grew up in Chongqing, an inland city in southwest China. Her connection to the ocean began college during a marine biology lecture on diel vertical migration - the nightly ascent of billions of zooplankton from the deep to the surface and the return by dawn. The idea struck her as a revelation: the deep sea was not so distant at all. It rose to meet the surface everuy night for anyone curious enough to look. From that moment, she began scuba diving and photographing plankton, the living connections between the surface and the abyss.

With a masters degree in Evolutionary Biology from Colombia University in the US, Jialing merges photography and science to create visual works that both educate and enchant. Over the past eight years, she has documented more than 200 species of plankton in tropical waters, mostly within the upper 30 metres. Yet the shallows now feel too familiar. With every dive, her curiosity drifts towards the colder deeper waters where new communities of plankton awaits discovery.

As the 2o25 - 2o26 GUE NextGen Scholar, she aims to prepare for these explorations by gaining technical proficiency through courses including Tech1, CCR Fundies and Scientific Diver. Ultimately, she aspires to lead plankton discovery expeditions in extreme environments where plankton species have never been filmed in the field. Through her work, she hopes to create visual content that informs science and inspires wonder.