ENVISION DTP - Key Persons


Abdullah Rafiq

: Exploring the ecology of airborne pollen biodiversity using environmental DNA analysis and identifying links to hay fever School of Environment Natural Resources and Geography Bangor University Email Abdullah Rafiq Twitter I completed my Undergraduate degree in Biomedical Science at the University of Bangor. My dissertation focused on the Warburg and Crabtree effects in cancer […]

Alex Billings

: Plasticiser in the UK terrestrial environment: occurrence and bioaccumulation? CEH Wallingford / CEH Lancaster Email Alex Billings Twitter I am interested in the environmental fate and ecotoxicology of plasticisers in the terrestrial environment. The properties of plastics are determined in part by a cocktail of various additives known as plasticisers. The effects of these […]

Alison Clayson

PhD: Geochemical controls on the dermal absorption of organic soil contaminants Location: I am hosted at the British Geological Survey in Keyworth and enrolled at the University of Nottingham Email Alison Clayson I completed my Master's in Chemistry (MChem) at the University of Warwick, during which my master's project focused on the synthesis and characterisation

Amy Gresham

Job Titles:
  • Environment
Environment Centre Wales, Bangor University Email: myg18xqd@bangor.ac.uk Twitter account: @amygresham48 LinkedIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amygresham48/ As someone who has always been passionate about the importance of wildlife conservation, I started my academic career knowing that I wanted to learn more about the natural world in order to do all I could to preserve it.

Andrea Sartorius

The impact of trace metal contaminants on environmental and animal health: a multi-disciplinary approach Vet School Clinical Building, Sutton Bonington Campus andrea.sartorius@nottingham.ac.uk @aisartorius For my undergraduate degree I studied biology, with a focus in ecology, at Pomona College, a liberal arts university in California, USA. There, I did a year-long dissertation project studying the impact

Andrew Schendl

PhD: Exploiting big data to understand access to greenspace in the UK Location: Bangor University, School of Natural Sciences LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-schendl Twitter: @SchendlAnd…

Ankita Bhattacharya

PhD: The influence of groundwater and soil conditions on future flood risk of UK estuaries Location: British Geological Survey, Nottingham University: School of Ocean Sciences, Bangor university Email: ankbha@bgs.ac.uk LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/ankita-bhattacharya-93a32776 I completed my 3-years M.ScTech (Applied Geology) in 2015 from Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad and was recipient of the university silver medal.

Anna Wood

PhD Title: Metabarcoding for the monitoring of biodiversity during forest restoration in European forests Location: Bangor University Contact information: a.wood@bangor.ac.uk Twitter: @anna_r_wood Ban…

Bede West

Modelling the impact of agri-environment scheme options on soil and vegetation CEH Lancaster Email: bwest@ceh.ac.uk Twitter: @bede_west https://twitter.com/bede_west I am interested in how land management impacts affect ecosystems and their relationship with natural resource production. As plants are in the lowest trophic level and soils are the medium from which they grow means this makes

Bradley Reed

Ice-ocean interaction: effects of climate change on Antarctic ice-shelf dynamics Bangor University, School of Ocean Sciences, Email: bradley.reed@bangor.ac.uk Twitter: https://twitter.com/oceanBrrrad For my undergraduate degree I studied Mathematics at the University of Leeds. I quickly became interested in the applied processes and fluid dynamics in particular. In 2013 I graduated with a First-class Honours and spent

Calum Ramage

PhD: Assessing the impact of environmental contaminants in the Kruger National Park, South Africa: From sediments to crocodiles School of Veterinary Sciences and Medicine University of Nottingham Email Calum Ramage Research Gate LinkedIn Originally half Scottish and half English, I grew up as a nature and wildlife enthusiast in rural France.

Catherine Walker

PhD: The War-torn Woodlands of Britain: Reconstructing the ecological impacts of historical disturbance Location: Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH), Lancaster Email Catherine Walker LinkedIn Twit…

Catrin Eden

PhD: Understanding how habitat quality, insect abundance and aquatic subsidies impact population change in a rapidly declining bird Location: Lancaster University Email Catrin Eden Twitter Linked In I…

Claire Carrington

: Understanding responses of coastal seabirds to local and daily-scale meteorological variation Location: Bangor University Email Claire Carrington I began my academic career in 2013 studying a B…

Clare Brewster

PhD: Impact of ozone on nitrogen dynamics of grassland vegetation Centre for Ecology and Hydrology Email Clare Brewster Following degrees in Geography (Hull University, 1984-87), and Environmental Policy (Wye College, 1988-89) I had a varied and interesting career from 1990-2010 working largely on environmental issues at district, county and regional levels of local government, much

Daniel Fishburn

PhD: Investigating the feedbacks between abiotic and biotic processes of litter decomposition in tropical dry forests School of Natural Sciences, Bangor University Email Daniel Fishburn LinkedIn Research Gate Prior to starting my PhD in Ecology, I talked with multiple trusted friends who have been or are close to being awarded their doctorates.

Donna Fellowes

Job Titles:
  • Envision Training Lead for Rothamsted Research

Dr Andrew Smith

Job Titles:
  • Envision Management Lead for BGS

Dr Donna Palmer

Job Titles:
  • Envision Training Lead for University of Nottingham

Dr Felicity Hayes

Job Titles:
  • Envision Management Lead for UKCEH

Dr Jennie Gilbert

Job Titles:
  • Associate Director, Lancaster University
Jennie supports Nick with the overall management of Envision.

Dr Jonathan Nadan

Job Titles:
  • Envision Training Lead for BGS

Dr Neal Hockley

Job Titles:
  • Envision Training Lead for Bangor University

Dr Simon Vaukins

Job Titles:
  • Envision Training Lead for Lancaster University

Edward Bates

PhD: The Atmospheric Chemistry of Peroxy Radicals Location: University of Nottingham Contacts: University email: pcyejba@nottingham.ac.uk LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/edward-bates-1a1891207 Group web…

Edward Dilks

PhD: The impact of small impoundments and connectivity loss on fish distribution and abundance in river ecosystems: leveraging cutting edge geospatial modelling and eDNA approaches Location: University of Nottingham Email Edward Dilks Edward.dilks@nottingham.ac.uk I completed an undergraduate degree in Biochemistry at Lancaster University in 2014 and followed this with a Msc in Molecular Microbiology at

Edward Pyne

PhD: What lurks beneath: unravelling the chemically-guided ecological interactions of Armillaria fungi, a devastating group of subterranean forest pathogens Location: Bangor University Email Edward Py…

Eilidh Forster

PhD: Developing environmentally sustainable forestry value chains Bangor University Email Eilidh Forster Twitter LinkedIn My first degree was a MEng in Chemical Engineering from Strathclyde University. Since graduating I have had a varied and interesting career that has taken me from weather forecasting at the Met Office to working for one of the UK's leading

Elizabeth Flint

PhD: Understanding current and future impacts of public water supply on macronutrient cycles around the world Location: British Geological Survey (Wallingford) Email Elizabeth Flint Twitter I am a Uni…

Elliott Day

: Space Weather at Mid-Latitudes: Climatology, Dynamics and Drivers of Atmospheric Joule Heating Location: Physics Department, Lancaster University, Lancaster, LA1 4YB Email Elliott Day I graduated…

Eve Draper

: Clean air for all? Air pollution, deprivation and health Location: School of Geography, Sir Clive Granger Building, University Park, University of Nottingham Email Eve Draper I completed my under…

Ewan Sloan

PhD: Delta dynamics: lessons from the Chao Phraya Location: School of Engineering, University of Nottingham Email Ewan Sloan I graduated from the University of Nottingham in 2018 with an MEng in Civil…

Frances Kathryn Wood

Job Titles:
  • Envision Training Lead for UKCEH

Hannah Kemp

PhD: Bloomin' Blanket Weed: managing nuisance algae at National Trust water bodies School of Geography University of Nottingham Email: hannah.kemp@nottingham.ac.uk Twitter I recently graduated from the University of Nottingham with a degree in BSc Geography. My specific area of interest has developed around freshwater bodies, exploring the physical characteristics of lakes and rivers, how they

Hannah Markham

: Sensitivity of aquatic insect eggs to elevated fine sediment and phosphate concentrations in rivers University of Nottingham Email Hannah Markham I graduated from the University of Nottingham with a first-class degree in Environmental Science and a keen interest in aquatic invertebrates. My main focus is the effects from anthropogenic activities that bridge terrestrial and […]

Harry Skinner

PhD: Altered states: Will forest-agriculture mosaic landscapes allow the long-term survival of a forest-specialist primate? Location: Bangor University Email Harry Skinner Twitter For my undergradua…

Hattie Roberts

biogenic VOCs protect plant productivity under multiple environmental stress? Lancaster University and Bangor CEH Email Hattie Roberts Twitter As a Plant Biology graduate from Aberystwyth University, I am an enthusiastic ‘phyter'. My previous research has included investigating the distribution of a rare and vulnerable fungus growing on blackthorn leaves in The Burren, Ireland. A […]

Henry Lewis

PhD: The evolution of metabolic adaptation to environmental change. Location: University of Nottingham Email Henry Lewis Ecological transitions between environments usually entail dietary shifts. Rese… : The evolution of metabolic adaptation to environmental change. Location: University of Nottingham Email Henry Lewis Ecological transitions between environments usually entail dietary shifts. Research regarding adaptive evolutionary responses have, until recently, rarely discussed genetically encoded metabolic changes required to transgress nutritional gradients during environmental change. Compared to saltwater equivalents, freshwater environments possess low dietary […]

Hollie Ball

PhD: Sources, transfer and fate of microplastics in the Arctic marine environment Lancaster Environment Centre Lancaster University Email Hollie Ball Twitter I completed my undergraduate degree in Geography at Liverpool John Moores University, where I became interested in the topic of microplastic pollution. My undergraduate research project on the origin and fate of microplastics in

Hollie Blaydes

: Solar parks: refuges for pollinators and boosting pollination services Lancaster Environment Centre Lancaster University Email Hollie Blaydes Twitter I completed my undergraduate degree at Lancaster University in Ecology and Conservation. My final year dissertation project was evolutionary ecology focused and investigated parental care in blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus). Following this, I completed my MSc […]

Holly Unwin

Fracking magma: field and experimental investigation of hydrofracture in volcanic systems Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University Email: h.unwin@lancaster.ac.uk I am a volcanology PhD student at Lancaster University investigating the formation and evolution of tuffisite veins. I completed my undergraduate masters in Earth Sciences at the University of Oxford, where my masters' project was developing the

Iain Hill

Fish in a biogeochemical barrel: taking aim at the evolutionary consequences of nutrient colimitation in freshwater Life Sciences Building, University of Nottingham Email: iain.hill@nottingham.ac.uk After the completion of BSc (Hons) Zoology, I spent over 7 years working in medical labs, including 2 ½ years as a research technician in clinical cancer trials at the Royal

Jack Atkin-Willoughby

PhD: Restoring for a resilient future: Woodland community assembly trajectories in the face of multiple stressors Location: UKCEH Bangor Email Jack Atkin-Willoughby Twitter Research Gate Linkedin My academic studies began with an undergraduate degree in Biological Sciences from the University of Bristol. After graduating in 2018, I left the UK to live in western Canada

James Boon

PhD: Aliens in the twilight zone: using robots to study and manage invasive lionfish on Caribbean mesophotic coral ecosystems. Location: University of Nottingham Email James Boon Twitter LinkedIn Prof…

James Boyd

: Coupled hydrogeophysical and geomechanical modelling of slope stability for improved early warning of landslides Email James Boyd British Geological Survey Environmental Science Centre Originally I studied Geology with Geophysics at the University of Leicester. It was during my undergraduate degree I developed an interest in near surface geophysics, as electro-magnetic methods had a part […]

Javier Gonzalez Barrios

PhD: Confronting the Changing Diversity Patterns of Coral Reefs Location: Lancaster Environmental Centre, Lancaster University Email Javier Gonzalez Barrios Twitter Javier is an Envision DTP NERC funded PhD student at Lancaster Environment Centre, supervised by Prof Nick Graham, Dr Sally Keith, Dr Gareth Williams (Bangor University) and Prof Joshua Cinner (James Cook University). Javier completed

Jessica Hey

PhD: How do birds contribute to the spread of antimicrobial resistant microorganisms? Email Jessica Hey Twitter Research Gate I am a PhD student at Bangor University, studying the role that gulls play…

Joe Douglas

: Urban greenspace - what attributes determine wellbeing? Location: Environment Centre Wales, Bangor. Email Joe Douglas Twitter I graduated from the BA Human Sciences course at the University of …

Katie Devenish

: The environmental trade-offs of mining in a biodiversity hotspot Thoday Building Bangor University Email Katie Devenish Twitter My project is entitled ‘the environmental trade-offs of mining in a biodiversity hotspot'. The biodiversity hotspot in question is Madagascar, a country renowned for it's biological diversity but which is also home to a wealth of natural […]

Katie Sieradzan

PhD: Impacts of sea level rise on atmospheric CO2 concentration during deglacial - glacial periods School of Ocean Sciences Bangor University Email Katie Sieradzan As an undergraduate I studied geological oceanography at Bangor University, with a focus on the West Antarctic ice sheet and the impact of melting on the Meridional Overturning Circulation. During the

Laura Hunt

Reconstructing 2000 years of hydrological change in Africa - implications for future climate scenarios British Geological Survey and University of Nottingham Email: laura.hunt@nottingham.ac.uk /lhun@bgs.ac.uk Twitter: @laura_hunt7 Lake systems in Africa provide water to some of Earth's fastest growing and most vulnerable human populations, but are under threat from climate change and other anthropogenic pressures. My

Laura Turner

PhD: An experimental and macroecological investigation of precipitation effects on Arctic plant root traits University of Nottingham Email Laura Turner Twitter LinkedIn I completed an integrated master's in biology at the University of Sheffield, with a year studying in Canada at McMaster University. Through my degree, I focussed on ecology and environmental change, undertaking projects

Lisa Goberdhan

PhD: Functional Role of Uncharted Coral Reef Habitats in the Anthropocene Location: School of Ocean Sciences, Bangor University Email Lisa Goberdhan Twitter My academic journey began at the University of the West Indies where I graduated with a BSc in Civil with Environmental Engineering in 2014. I worked in the energy sector for two years

Lucy Benniston

PhD: Assessing the role of geodiversity in conserving biodiversity in agricultural Eurasian grasslands Location: University of Nottingham Email Lucy Benniston I am currently completing a PhD in the Geography department at the University of Nottingham. In my research I will assess the relationship between Biodiversity, the diversity of living things, and Geodiversity, which is the

Luke Sibbett

: Early warning of landslide events using computer vision and geophysical image analysis Email Luke Sibbett My background is in Physics, having obtained my undergraduate MSci in Physics from the University of Nottingham. During my degree I spent a summer at the Diamond Light Source synchrotron, researching how coherent infrared light emitted by bunches of […]

Mark Hamilton

PhD: Implications of coral reef degradation for fisheries Lancaster Environment Centre Lancaster University Email Mark Hamilton Twitter LinkedIn Mark is an Envision DTP funded PhD student at the Lancaster Environment Centre (LEC). He completed his BSc Marine Biology and MRes Applied Marine & Fisheries Ecology degrees at the University of Aberdeen.

Matthew Appleton

PhD: Modelling the future of coastal soft cliffs under changing climate Location: University of Nottingham emails: matthew.appleton1@nottingham.ac.uk (main) also: mapp1@bgs.ac.uk (alternative) twitter: @Matt72286888 I am a first year PhD student, funded by ENVISION, working between the University of Nottingham and the British Geological Survey. My research focusses on modelling the retreat of cliff-beach-platform systems under

Megan Barnes

PhD: The ecological and evolutionary significance of functional variation in mitochondria in a wild animal Location: University of Nottingham. Email Megan Barnes Mitochondria are responsible for energy production. They carry their own DNA, separate to the nucleus. Although variation in this mitochondrial DNA has long been assumed neutral, recent findings suggest that it may be

Megan O'Hara

: What drives cold pulses at remote tropical reefs? Location: Menai Bridge, Anglesey. SOS Bangor University. Email Megan O'Hara Linkedin I'm currently studying a PhD in Physical Oceanography at Bangor University titled "What drives cold pulses at remote tropical reefs?". I hope to evidence that upwelling events recorded in the Pacific are internal waves by […]

Milind Mutnale

PhD: Fishing for parasite genomes: host-parasite co-evolution of an emerging salmonid disease Location: University of Nottingham Email Milind Mutnale Twitter I completed my BSc and MSc in Microbiology from India. My master thesis aimed at revealing haloarchaeal biodiversity present in invertebrates. After my MSc, I worked for 6 years as a project assistant on two

Nia Jones

: Dispersal of microplastics in the marine environment School of Ocean Sciences Bangor University Email Nia Jones Twitter LinkedIn I was first able to engage in environmental research by studying for a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Geography degree at Cardiff University. Here is where I gained a broad training in the environmental sciences […]

Olivia Lawrenson

Job Titles:
  • Manager
Olivia is the first point of contact for day to day enquiries and can assist with requests for accessing resources through Envision.

Romilly Close

PhD: Assessing the Contribution of Antarctic Peninsula Glaciers to Global Sea Level Rise Location: Lancaster University Email Romilly Close My undergraduate degree was in Aerospace Engineering at the University of Sheffield. I graduated in 2016, and went into composites research and development in industry for 5 years. I am proficient in coding and enthusiastic about

Rosie Clear Hill

PhD: The Impact of Climate on Tropical Forests: A natural experiment within the Eastern Arc Mountains, Tanzania Location: Rothamsted Research Email Rosie Clear Hill My PhD with Envision is based at Rothamsted Research and looks at how climate change will affect the phenology and structure of tropical rainforests in the Eastern Arc Mountains of Tanzania.

Rosie Dunkley

PhD: Why are there so few C2 grasses? Location: Lancaster University Contact: Email: r.dunkley@lancaster.ac.uk Twitter: @dunkley_rosie Lancaster page: https://wp.lancs.ac.uk/lundgrenlab/dr-ma… Twitter: @dunkley_rosie Lancaster page: https://wp.lancs.ac.uk/lundgrenlab/dr-marjorie-r-lundgren/people/rosie-dunkley/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rosa-dunkley-434251174/ I am a first year PhD Envision funded student in the Lundgren Lab at Lancaster University looking into C2 grasses. My project focuses on why, when C2 is posited as an intermediary evolutionary […]

Ruth Carter

PhD: Complementary strategies for the sustainable management of an invasive pest in Africa Email Ruth Carter Twitter LinkedIn Current Research: Throughout my PhD, I will investigate if the Fall Armyworm moth (Spodoptera frugiperda) competes with the African armyworm moth (Spodoptera exempta). Both moths threaten African food security as their caterpillars feed on many crops, including

Sam Walrond

: Soil microbes to mitigate climate change Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University Email Sam Walrond LinkedIn Profile In 2019, I graduated from the University of Birmingham by completing…

Sandra Lucia Cortes

PhD: Herbivore-Plant-Soil microbe interactions: who is helping whom Location: Rothamsted Research, Harpenden, UK. Email Sandra Lucia Cortes Research Gate Twitter I am a Colombian researcher focused on sustainable agriculture. I worked for seven years as a technician in the laboratory of Soil Microbiology at the Colombian Corporation for Agricultural Research, Agrosavia. My research area involved

Sarah Bond

PhD: Demographic consequences of variation in individual foraging strategies of northern fulmars School of Ocean Sciences Bangor University Email Sarah Bond I studied biology at the University of Manchester, graduating in 2013. I then worked as a research assistant for OxNav research group on Skomer Island, using Manx shearwaters to study behavioural questions relating to

Sohila Raqib

Job Titles:
  • Training and Placements Co - Ordinator
Sohila is responsible for coordinating your training and placements during your time with Envision.

Sophie Mowbray

PhD: The impact of climate change on the thermal ecology of cold-adapted butterflies Location: Lancaster University Email Sophie Mowbray My particular research interests lie in ecology and conservation, especially butterfly ecology. I have an integrated master's degree in conservation biology and ecology at the University of Exeter's Cornwall campus in Penryn. During this degree, I

Sophie Young

: Why does C4 photosynthesis rarely evolve in trees? Lancaster Environment Centre Lancaster University Email Sophie Young Twitter Current Research: Throughout my PhD, I will investigate why C4 photosynthesis is only rarely present in trees. C4 is a highly efficient form of photosynthesis which is found in some of our most productive crop species such […]

Stuart Sopp

PhD: Extending global forest carbon models based on LIDAR from tropics to other bioregions School of Natural Sciences Bangor University Email Stuart Sopp I am PhD student at the University of Bangor, within the school of Natural Sciences, researching forest carbon models using LiDAR, with the aim of extending these models beyond the tropics. My

Tom Oliver

PhD: Dispersal strategies and space use in pollinating bees Rothamsted Research Email: thl18nrz@bangor.ac.uk Twitter: @Tomoliverbees I have a lifelong love of bees thanks to my grandparents. They were beekeepers for more than fifty years, becoming head honey judges at the Shrewsbury Flower Show, producing a film on the history of beekeeping and ultimately passing their

Zoe Melvin

: Living with human disturbance: conservation physiology and genetics in a wild African primate Bangor University Zzm18fls@bangor.ac.uk https://uk.linkedin.com/in/zoe-melvin-186a22108 @Zoe_Melvin on twitter I completed my BSc in Zoology with a Professional Training Year at Cardiff University in 2016. For my undergraduate dissertation I conducted a population genetic analysis of the critically endangered Bojer's skink in collaboration […]