Staff Profile

My role

I work as a senior botanical technician and lab manager supporting the research groups of Professor Anne Borland, Professor William Willats, Dr Maxim Kapralov, Dr Vasilios Andriotis, Dr Tahar Taybi and Dr Catherine Jones. My areas of expertise include plant science, horticulture, glasshouse and controlled environments, facility design and refurbishment, protein and agarose gel electrophoresis, DNA and RNA extractions, PCRs, Western blotting, aseptic technique and plant tissue culture. 

Secondment

On 10 January 2022, I joined the team in the BioImaging Unit in FMS, to learn all aspects of microscopy and imaging software and hardware. This is a year's secondment and is proving both challenging and exciting to be developing new skills in this area at the forefront of technology, and to network with colleagues across faculties.

Qualifications

• BSc(hons) Biological Sciences (Plant Sciences) 
• RHS Advanced Certificate in Horticulture (level 4)
• NPTC PA1 and PA6 certificates in safe use of pesticides (level 2)
• Member of the Chartered Institute of Horticulture
• NCRQ Safety for Managers
• OU Certificate in Management and Leadership: Wellbeing and Welfare at Work
• Certificate in Science Writing
• TQUK Certificate in Awareness of Mental Health Problems

Previous roles

• Senior Research Technician at the Centre for Novel Agricultural Products, University of York
• Senior Gardener for the Royal Horticultural Society, RHS Wisley
• Plant Growth Suite Manager and Senior Research Technician for The Centre for Plant Sciences, University of Leeds
• Communications Operator for West Yorkshire Police
• Research technician in Biochemistry, University of Leeds
• Trainee technician in HPLC techniques for British Steel Corporation

Plant care and horticulture

Controlled environments

Genetic modification of plants

Plant tissue culture

ICS chromatography

Protein extraction and SDS PAGE

Western blotting

DNA and RNA isolation

PCR

Light and fluorescent microscopy

• Urwin PE, Yi L, Martin H, Atkinson HJ, Gilmartin PM. Functional characterization of the EMCV IRES in plants. The Plant Journal 2001, 24(5), 583-9.
• Smallwood M, Yates EA, Willats WGT, Martin H, Knox JP. Immuno­chemical comparison of ­membrane-associated and secreted arabinogalactan-proteins in rice and carrot. Planta 198(3):452-459 1996, 198(3), 452-459.
• Smallwood M, Martin H, Knox JP. An epitope of rice threonine- and hydroxyproline-rich glycoprotein is common to cell wall and hydrophobic plasma membrane glycoproteins. Planta 196 1995, 196(3), 510-522. In Preparation.
• Smith LM, Handley J, li Yi, Martin H, Donovan L, Bowles DJ. Temporal and spatial regulation of a novel gene in barley embryos. Plant Molecular Biology 1993, 20(2), 255-66.
• Clark AJ, Higgins P, Martin H, Bowles DJ. An embryo-specific protein of barley (Hordeum vulgare). European Journal of Biochemistry 1995, 199(1), 115-21.