Biography

After a childhood spent ripping apart and rebuilding computers, DVD players, and old phones to see how they work, I now enjoy sitting at home in a cocoon of electronics that I use to analyse the microbiomes and functional profiles of soils. My personal interests include the history of the civilisations of the Mediterranean and Middle East, linguistics, the evolution of humans, and cooking.

I graduated from the University of Lincoln in 2020 with an Integrated Master’s degree in Biology before heading directly to Newcastle to do my PhD under Dr. Julia Cooper and Dr. Dave George.

Project Title

Exploring Microbial Community Responses to Land Management Decisions Within a Long-Term Factorial Study

Project Date

October 2020 – September 2024

Project Summary

The microbial community plays an integral role within a range of soil functions, including carbon cycling, nitrogen fixing, disease suppression, and even the production of plant growth promoting hormones like auxin. Even by listing just a few functions, it is plain to see why the study of the microbiome is important to ensuring safe and plentiful harvests in the face of a changing world, both in terms of the direct effects of climate change like changing weather patterns and extreme temperatures, and the political response like changes to subsidies intended to mitigate emissions. By identifying the ways in which the land manager affects the microbiome, we may be able to better inform our decisions when transitioning from conventional to organic farming, when adding fertilisers and pesticides, or when adding biostimulants.

This project seeks to unravel the complex interactions between crop rotations, agrochemical additions, and land management decisions that affect the chemical and physical properties of the soil, which in turn will have potentially significant effects on the composition of the microbial community and any associated functions.

Publications and Community Engagements

Previous Projects

Master’s Project – Effects of Fungicides on the Phyllosphere of Curly Kale, University of Lincoln