Christine left the Philippines to pursue postgraduate studies in Kochi University under Prof. Masao Ohno working on the Gracilaria of Tosa Bay, Japan. She taught from 1996 to 2019 at Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, Malaysia. Her seaweed biodiversity research included setting up the Seaweed Herbarium Collection in the South China Sea Repository and Reference Center (RRC) in the Institute of Oceanography and Environment (INOS). Other seaweed research were on field populations, cultivation and utilization of Gracilaria, Kappaphycus, and Sargassum species among others. She continues to work on the seaweeds in the herbarium collection aside from assisting in the public education programs of the RRC.