School of Biosciences staff by research theme - School of Biosciences

Dr. Juliano Sarmento Cabral is one of the world’s experts in mechanistic modelling of eco-evolutionary biodiversity dynamics. He and his team have developed several mechanistic and process-based models for plant and animal populations, communities, and species ranges to demonstrate, for example, how ecological and genetic traits are both under selection under environmental change and how ...

Dr Chappell is an expert in the field of animal cognition and is involved in interdisciplinary research and teaching. Her research focus is on understanding the ways that animals use their intelligence to adapt to complex, dynamic environments. She is Deputy Head of School in the School of Biosciences.

My personal research activity relates to mechanistic cellular and genetic toxicology, toxicogenomics and nanotoxicology in relation to both human health and the health of organisms in the aquatic environment.

John Colbourne’s investigations encompass the fields of evolutionary ecology, high-throughput biology, environmental and functional genomics. From this blend of disciplines emerges a research program that centers on connecting gene expression and genome structure with individual fitness and population-level responses to environmental challenges.

Dr Hayward’s research group seeks to understand how organisms cope with variable and stressful environments. Temperate, polar and tropical terrestrial invertebrates (insects, mites and nematodes) are the primary focus of this endeavour. His lab uses state-of-the-art tools, and a systems biology approach, to investigate how these organisms detect, repair and stabilize the cellular and ...

Dr Nik Hodges is interested in the mechanisms of genetic toxicology, cellular oxidative stress and repair of oxidative DNA damage and his lab was the first to identify that the variant form of the repair protein OGG1 is repair deficient under conditions of oxidative stress which could have important consequences for individual susceptibility to cancer.

Professor Julia Myatt is the Academic Director for Sustainability Education at the University of Birmingham. As part of the Senior Education Team, Julia coordinates and promotes the central place of subject-specific and interdisciplinary education in sustainability and climate awareness across the University’s teaching and learning strategy. Julia is also part of the Birmingham Institute ...

Luisa's mission is to improve environmental health by pushing the boundaries of research and innovation. She applies high throughput sequencing technologies and AI to understand the impact of environmental change on freshwater ecosystems. Luisa works with ghost DNA and resurrected crustaceans to identify the causes of biodiversity loss and the mechanisms of evolution that allow species to persist.

Dr Jim Reynolds has worked on the reproductive biology and the nutritional ecology of birds from many different and diverse orders including passerines, geese, grouse, kingfishers and terns. He has worked in North America and in mainland Europe in investigating how human activity influences food availability and the resulting changes in avian reproductive investment and life histories. He employs ...

Alice Roberts is an anatomist, author and broadcaster. Her research interests focus on evolutionary anatomy, osteoarchaeology and palaeopathology. She has considerable experience in science communication: she has presented several landmark series on the BBC and written seven popular science books.

Susannah Thorpe is Professor of Zoology for the School of Biosciences at the University of Birmingham, UK. Her research employs a multidisciplinary approach in primate behavioural ecology to reveal how primates interact with complex natural habitats and the environmental constraints that steer their evolution. Her career has been predominantly based on revealing core aspects of human ...

Professor Mark Viant’s expertise lies in the field of metabolomics. His research spans from method development in analytical chemistry and bioinformatics through to the application of metabolomics to environmental toxicology. Professor Viant is a member of the Centre for Environmental Research and Justice (CERJ).

Dr Mike Tomlinson is a Reader in Membrane Protein Biology in the School of Biosciences at the University of Birmingham.  He is a member of the Centre of Membrane Proteins and Receptors (COMPARE), and associate member of the Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences.  He is Communications Lead for the School of Biosciences.  Mike’s research focuses on tetraspanin membrane proteins ...

Professor Chris Bunce directs a translational research group dedicated to the development of novel therapies for leukaemias and lymphomas. A particular focus is the exploitation of drug redeployment strategies using off- patent drugs to provide affordable therapies that can be exploited by all including the worlds poorer nations.

Professor Helen J. Cooper is an expert in the gas-phase ion chemistry of peptides and proteins. She is a world-leader in the field of electron capture dissociation mass spectrometry and is responsible for establishing the University of Birmingham as a centre of excellence in mass spectrometry research. Professor Cooper has published extensively in peer-reviewed journals and serves on a number of ...

My prime research interest is how the information encoded in chromosomes instructs building of the most complex organ, the brain, and allows an organism to perform elaborate tasks.

Our lab uses the fruit fly Drosophila to unravel the mechanisms underlying behavioural choices. By studying how the brain makes decisions at a genetic, cellular and circuit level, in an accessible experimental system, we aim to reveal fundamental principles that might be present across species.

Find out more from our website

Dr Coates's research interests include development, evolution, plant science and cell biology - in particular understanding how plants made the transition to land and how they survived once they got there. Dr Coates has a very strong interest in supporting inclusion and diversity in research, teaching and academic processes.

I am a Reader in RNA biology. My group's research focuses on understanding the mechanisms that connect pre-mRNA processing with translation and Nonsense Mediated mRNA Decay (NMD). A second interest of the laboratory is understanding the functions of ribosomes and ribosomal proteins within the nucleus.

Lab page:  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Brognalab/646045552079820

Dr Fan’s research interest centres on understanding how cell death, cell proliferation and cell differentiation are coordinated to maintain tissue homeostasis.  This has important implications for cancer development and tissue regeneration.  

Our lab aims to understand structural plasticity of the nervous system: in development, regeneration and repair. That is, what is the link between structure and function in the brain? How does the brain change as we grow, learn and age? What happens in nervous system injury and disease, and how can we promote regeneration and repair?

Find out more from our website

Professor Hotchin is a molecular cell biologist with an interest in how cells interact with their immediate environment and how those interactions regulate functions such as cell proliferation, migration and differentiation. He has published a number of high impact papers on the role of small GTP-binding proteins in control of cell function and, more recently, on the role of membrane tyrosine ...

Professor Tim Dafforn has established himself as an expert in biophysical spectroscopy with a keen interest in synthetic biology. Professor Dafforn has developed a number of projects from inception through to commercial realization.

 

Debbie is Deputy Director of Education for the College of Life and Environmental Sciences and a teaching-focused lecturer and Senior Tutor in the School of Biosciences. Within these roles she has interests in influencing and supporting strategies which enhance academic standards and student experience.

Debbie has research expertise in the use of biochemical techniques to characterise regulatory ...

Dr Klaus Fütterer is a structural biologist whose research focuses on cell wall synthesis in the pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Dr Leney is a structural biology-based mass spectrometrist. Her interests focus on protein post-translational modifications and the role that these play in communication or miscommunication in the case of disease. She is also exploring new avenues whereby protein modifications can be utilised for biotechnological applications.

More information: https://www.leney-mass-spectrometry.com/

Tim Knowles is a Reader in Structural Biology whose interest lies in utilising and developing structural and biophysical techniques to elucidate protein function. His research focus spans both prokaryotes and eukaryotes and includes diverse areas of study including resolving the mechanisms of outer membrane biogenesis in Gram-negative bacteria, the development of novel strategies for studying ...

I am a Professor of Structural Biology here at Birmingham, and my research interests involve utilising structural biology (and complementary techniques) to investigate protein function – many of these projects involve the unusual predatory bacterium Bdellovibrio; see “Research” tab and be enthused!

Here is a link to a presentation given at an EMBO meeting that provides some ...

Dr Scott White is an experienced structural biologist speciallising in the application of x-ray crystallography to the structure and function of enzymes and their substrate, inhibitor or drug-bound complexes. He is also an Academic personal tutor and the Mitigations Officer for the School of Biosciences. He is the coordinator of the UK Midland's Block Allocation Group (BAG) for the European ...

Dr Eleanor Cull is an experienced parasitologist and has worked on gene regulation and metabolism in the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum and host cell invasion in Toxoplasma gondii. 

Her main academic interests are in molecular biology and its application in investigating human health and disease.

One of her other interests is innovative teaching techniques. With a unique ...

Teresa Carlomagno is an internationally recognized expert in the development and application of integrative structural biology (ISB) to biomolecular complexes. She has dedicated her scientific life to studying how molecular partners communicate with each other; in this mission her research has been pushing the limits of structural biology techniques in solution to address questions of constantly ...

Daniel’s group studies how plants use targeted protein degradation as a mechanism for sensing and responding to their environment, with a focus on how this regulates their growth, development, epigenome, and tolerance to stresses such as flooding.

Dr Florian Busch is a theoretical and experimental plant physiologist interested in all aspects of photosynthesis. His focus is on linking different photosynthetic processes with mathematical models to study the biochemical limitations of carbon fixation and to gain a quantitative understanding of how plant carbon uptake responds to changes in the environment.

Dr Catoni integrates computational biology with a range of experimental molecular biology approaches to study the epigenetic mechanisms controlling genome plasticity in plants.

The group investigates the relations between epigenetic and evolution, and develops epigenetic-based approaches to improve plant production, to support a more sustainable agriculture.

View Marco Catoni's Lab Website

Dr Coates's research interests include development, evolution, plant science and cell biology - in particular understanding how plants made the transition to land and how they survived once they got there. Dr Coates has a very strong interest in supporting inclusion and diversity in research, teaching and academic processes.

Chris Franklin is a leading expert on meiosis in plants. Work in his laboratory has made a major contribution to the understanding of how meiotic recombination is controlled in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. This knowledge is currently being transferred to crop species where the ability to modify genetic recombination will help plant breeders develop the new varieties that will be needed ...

Noni Franklin-Tong’s research focuses on the cellular mechanisms involved in the model cell-cell recognition system of self-incompatibility (SI) in Papaver rhoeas (the Field Poppy). She is recognized at an international level for her work elucidating the cellular mechanisms responsible for regulating the rejection of “self” pollen.

Sexual reproduction in higher plants ...

Daniel’s group studies how plants use targeted protein degradation as a mechanism for sensing and responding to their environment, with a focus on how this regulates their growth, development, epigenome, and tolerance to stresses such as flooding.

Professor Rob Jackson is an expert in bacteria-plant interactions, making major contributions to the understanding of how pathogens cause disease and how pathogens evolve to evade host immunity. He also has interests in applied biology questions relating to biocontrol approaches to treat plant diseases.

Dr Graeme Kettles is a molecular plant pathologist with diverse interests across the range of biotic threats that plants encounter. His most recent projects involved study of the virulence strategies used by fungal pathogens of wheat. He is currently establishing a program of tree pathology at Birmingham, in collaboration with the Birmingham Institute of Forest Research (BIFoR).

Originally from Spain, Dr Estrella Luna-Diez is a plant pathologist working in the UK since early 2009. Her work is aimed towards plant protection and biosecurity. Dr Luna-Diez studies the sophisticated immune system of plants in order to exploit their resistance capacity to a maximum.

Nigel Maxted is Professor of Plant Genetic Conservation, with specific expertise in in situ and ex situ conservation related to crops, their wild relative and other socio-economically important plants.

Nigel has led National, European and International crop, their wild relative and other socio-economically important plant conservation projects with funding from international (FAO, GEF, Bioversity ...

Megan uses next-generation sequencing tools identify and characterise virulence genes from fungal pathogens of wheat and barley. To do this Megan has worked extensively with long-read de novo genome assembly, genome annotation and transposon annotation. Megan’s background is in population genetics of plant pathogens, studying their origins and global movement during her graduate studies. ...

I am a Biology lecturer with interest in plants, evolution and the natural environment. In my research career I started our looking at individual root cells and how they expand (under high pressure if you want to know!), phloem and xylem transport and the interaction aphids.  Now as a director of Education for the BIFoR FACE experiment I look at whole oak trees and their ecosystems under ...

Dr Mojgan Rabiey is experts in molecular plant-microbe interaction. She works on biological control of tree diseases caused by bacteria. Her main interest is the evolution of tree pathogenic bacteria and bacteriophages, and how bacteriophages can be utilised as an alternative to antibiotics to control fungal and bacterial diseases in plants.