Juris attained his Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Technology at Riga Technical University and Master’s in Chemistry at University of Latvia. His Master’s project was carried out in the Latvian Institute of Aquatic Ecology (LIAE) focusing on untangling the interactions between and within trophic levels from phytoplankton to fish of Baltic Sea coastal and estuarine food webs through carbon and nitrogen stable isotope chemistry. After graduation he remained in LIAE pioneering research into anadromous fish migration by stable isotope fingerprinting in addition to continuing research of food webs and to further expand his knowledge in marine monitoring techniques as a mesozooplankton taxonomist.

Currently, Juris is employed as ESR at the National Institute of Chemical Physics and Biophysics in Tallinn, Estonia, where he will investigate the effects of changing abiotic factors on chemical toxicity in primary producers and consumers in microcosm scale food webs.