Ellen Pape has been working in the field of deep-sea benthic ecology since 2007. For her PhD, she studied the biodiversity and ecosystem function of meiofauna (nematodes) in contrasting southern European deep-sea environments through field observational studies and experimental work. Most of her research focused on meiofauna, but she also co-authored scientific manuscripts on macro- and megafauna ecology. Since 2014, she has been coordinating the baseline biological and environmental studies in the exploration contract area of the Belgian company GSR (Global Sea Mineral Resources) in the Clarion Clipperton Fracture zone (northeast Pacific), a region of interest for deep-seabed mining for polymetallic nodules. She has also been involved in other research projects addressing ecological impacts of deep-seabed mining, i.e. MiningImpact I and II (JPIOceans) and DEEP REST. As of January 2023, she is a member of the Legal and Technical Commission of the International Seabed Authority. In February 2023 she was appointed as an assistant professor (10%) to develop and coordinate Lifelong Learning initiatives in marine and maritime sciences at the UGent campus in Ostend (Ostend Science Park, Bluebridge).