Biology, Zoology and Biotechnology Postgraduate Research

Supervisor: Professor Darren Evans

Projects:

• The impacts of environmental change of species-international networks (network ecology)
• The impacts of light pollution on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning
• Next-generation biomonitoring: integrating technologies using AI
• Developing shock propagation models for sustainable land-use and food systems

Key words: Community ecology; network science; molecular ecology; biodiversity conservation

Supervisor: Dr Thomas Howard

Projects:

Topics of interest include:

• Metabolic engineering of microbial or cell-free systems for production of fuels and chemicals,
• Creation of molecular biology-enhanced materials (for example, for the development of new diagnostics and surveillance methods, or materials capable of bio-computation),
• Development of technologies and approaches that facilitate the Design-Build-Test-Learn cycle in synthetic biolog

Key words: Synthetic Biology; Engineering Biology; Metabolic Engineering; Cell-Free Protein Synthesis; Cell-Free Systems; Biofuels

Supervisor: Dr Maxim Kapralov

Projects:

• Developing machine learning and gene-editing tools to make better crops.
• Can we reverse climate change by changes in carbon capture enzymes? 
• Photosynthesis and its adaptations in plants, algae and microbes from extreme environments. 
• Green waste to food grade protein: a case study for the use of plant proteins in food production.
• Evolution and bioengineering of Rubisco - the key CO2 sequestration enzyme. 

Key words: Plant biology, photosynthesis, machine learning, gene-editing, food security, phylogenetics, Rubisco .

Supervisor: Dr Simon Maddock

Projects:

• Conservation genomics of reptiles and amphibians
• Systematics of reptiles and amphibians
• Drivers of diversification in reptiles and amphibians
• Impacts of environmental change on reptiles and amphibians
• Ecological interactions of reptiles and amphibianss.

Key words: Ecology, evolution, conservation, reptiles, amphibians

Supervisor: Professor Philip McGowan

Projects:

• Reducing species extinction risk to achieve Goal A of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (applicable to any country)
• Developing a strategic approach to the conservation of species most in need of targeted recovery action (this would address target 4 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework)
• What knowledge and data do Small Island Developing States (SIDS) have access to to support biodiversity conservation and how can access to the information, and gathering and management of data, that is needed be improved.
• I would also welcome proposals on other ideas that would help inform new ways to tackle conservation issues, and that work with Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity and/or other relevant organisations and bodies. 

Key words: Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework; biodiversity conservation; species; extinction risk; international biodiversity conventions

Supervisor: Dr Marie McIntyre

Projects:

• Food safety issues associated with venison harvesting
• Food safety and smoked salmon production
• Systems approaches to understand food safety risks in food production

Key words: Animal Welfare, Zoology, Agriculture, Pets, Sensors, Behaviour

Supervisor: Dr Marion Pfeifer

Projects:

• Habitat fragmentation and impacts on biodiversity and microclimates
• Agroforestry for climate change mitigation and adaptation: using land system science frameworks
• Forest landscape restoration in tropical landscapes

Note: I only accept PGR students following interview and discussion of specific projects, which have to align with my lab's objectives and interests. I only accept PhD candidates that have secured/do secure external funding.

Key words: tropical and UK, agroforestry, natural capital, land systems science, remote sensing, biodiversity

Supervisor: Professor Paul Race

Projects:

• Antibiotic discovery in the abyss
• Enzyme discovery and engineering for green chemistry
• Microbes and enzymes from 'extreme' evironments
• Biocatalysis for industrial biotechnology

Key words: Natural products, enzymology, biochemistry, microbiology, antibiotics

Supervisor: Professor Lucy Asher

Projects:

• Using life histories to forecast how coldblooded animals respond to environmental change
  How development shapes the pace-of-life of animals
  Integrating developmental plasticity into eco-evolutionary population dynamics
  The eco-evolutionary population dynamics of how plasticity shapes life histories and population responses to change

Key words: environmental change, phenotypic plasticity, demography, eco-evolutionary dynamics, evolution

Supervisor: Dr Gavin Stewart

Projects:

• Developing evidence-based methods guidance for Meta-analysis or Systematic Review
• Meta-analysis of diverse evidence
• Developing methodologies to communicate strength of evidence
• Meta-analytical applications in food security, ecology, social science, health or other fields (see google scholar for range of applications)

Other interests: Decision models, Rhododendrons, Wildfowl, Upland ecology, Pre-hospital Emergency Care, Sports Science, Speleology, Mining.

Key words: Meta-analysis, evidence synthesis, systematic review, science policy, bias

Supervisor: Professor Sam Wilson

Projects:

• Greenhouse gas cycling in the land and sea
• Algal photosynthesis and nitrogen fixation
• Low-cost methane sensors
• Climate change impacts in aquatic systems
• Water quality 

Key words: Greenhouse gas, Algal photosynthesis and nitrogen fixation, Low-cost methane sensors, Climate change, Water quality