Head of School: Professor Jon Strefford
Academic staff
| Name | Position | Research interests |
|---|---|---|
| Dr Phil Baker | Lecturer |
Vertebrate conservation |
| Dr Glyn Barrett |
Lecturer |
My research spans microbial ecology and evolutionary biology, exploring how microorganisms interact, compete and adapt. I am particularly interested in the epibiosphere, surface-associated microbiomes, and pathogen persistence and microbial interactions in agroecosystems. A second major strand of my research focuses on antimicrobial and therapeutic peptides, exploring their interactions with microbial cells and biofilms, their potential to address antimicrobial resistance, and the microbial responses that shape their effectiveness. My work in these areas uses molecular, genomic and experimental approaches. |
| Dr Andrew Bladon |
Lecturer in Ecology
|
Conservation ecologist interested in the impacts of climate and habitat change on species' distribution and abundance, and in testing conservation interventions to reverse species' declines. Working closely with practical conservation organisations and policy-makers to generate applied research outputs. |
| Dr Vicky Boult |
Lecturer in Conservation Biology Admissions Tutor for BSc Biological Sciences |
An interdisciplinary scientist with expertise in both Ecology and Meteorology. Broadly interested in how we can combine an understanding of ecological processes, meteorological forecasts and humanitarian action to improve preparedness in biodiversity conservation. |
| Professor Amanda Callaghan |
Professor of Zoology Curator of the |
Applied ecology, aquatic ecotoxicology, entomology, mosquito biology, museum related research and pedagogic research |
| Dr Thomas Clements |
Lecturer in Invertebrate Zoology Deputy Curator of the |
Palaeobiologist and taphonomist using experimental approaches to understand the mechanisms of decay and soft tissue fossilisation Key research themes: |
| Dr Claire Cresswell |
Lecturer in Field Ecology Programme Director for MSc Ecological Survey Skills with Placement |
Agricultural ecology, plant-invertebrate interactions, avian behavioural ecology and monitoring |
| Professor Alastair Culham |
Professor of Botany Curator of the University Herbarium Head of Division for Ecology and Evolutionary Biology |
Evolutionary responses to climate change, plant phylogeny, plant and fungal taxonomy, use of next generation DNA data for species level evolution |
| Dr Chris Foster |
Associate Professor Programme Director forBSc Ecology and Wildlife Conservation Director of MSc by Research Entomology |
Landscape ecology, insect conservation and ornithology |
| Dr H Soon Gweon | Associate Professor | Bioinformatics, microbial ecology, environmental omics, molecular ecology, metagenomics, astacology |
| Professor Manuela Gonzalez-Suarez |
Professor in Ecological Modelling |
Loss of biodiversity, vertebrate conservation, road ecology, macroecology |
| Dr Matthew Greenwell |
Lecturer in Field Ecology Admissions Tutor for MSc Ecological Survey Skills with Placement Admissions Tutor for BSc Ecology and Wildlife Conservation |
Population genetics, insect ecology, plant-insect interactions, tropical ecology |
| Dr Sofia Gripenberg | Associate Professor in Ecology | Species interactions, population and community ecology, evolutionary ecology, tropical ecology |
| Professor Julie Hawkins |
Professor of Plant Systematics and Evolution |
Plant taxonomy and evolution, ethnobotany and evolutionary ethnobotany, wildlife trade and conservation |
| Dr Louise Johnson |
Associate Professor in Evolutionary Genetics |
Evolution, genetics, intragenomic conflict, genomics, levels of selection, genetic systems, cancer evolution |
| Dr Renee Lee |
Associate Professor Director of Placements and Employability Programme Director for Biological Sciences School Director of Recruitment and Admissions |
Biomineralisation in coccolithophores, microbially induced calcite precipitation, molecular fossils, trace metal homeostasis in biology, microbial diversity in caves |
| Dr Andrew Meade |
Lecturer in Computational Biology Research |
Phylogenetic inference, comparative methods, computational biology and high performance computing |
| Dr Campbell Murn |
Lecturer in Conservation Science Admissions Tutor and Programme Director for Zoology |
Biology and conservation of birds of prey, disease ecology, environmental contaminants, sensory ecology, scavenger dynamics |
| Professor Tom Oliver |
Professor of Applied Ecology |
Biodiversity and environmental risk, resilience of ecosystem functioning, science-policy interface, nature-centric governance, science communication |
| Professor Mark Pagel | Professor of Evolutionary Biology | Evolution, computational biology, language evolution, phylogeny, Markov chain Monte Carlo |
| Dr Brian Pickles |
Associate Professor of Ecology |
Biodiversity, forest ecology, herpetology, palaeoecology, plant-fungal symbioses, spatial ecology |
| Dr Alejandra Perotti | Associate Professor | Ectoparasitic lice and mites of primates as proxies of hosts' evolution. Ancient DNA lice and mites and their extinct hosts. Mites of medical, veterinaryor economic importance, whole organism biology and evolution. Forensic acarology interactions between mites with other arthropods and with bacteria (e.g. Wolbachia). Sex ratio distorters (e.g. Rickettsia, Wolbachia) and their asexual arthropod hosts |
| Dr Manabu Sakamoto |
Lecturer in Zoology |
Understanding how biodiversity is shaped by function, ecology, and environment over time using phylogenetic comparative methods, morphometrics, and biomechanics |
| Professor Chris Venditti |
Professor in Evolutionary Biology |
Phylogenetic inference and comparative methods, speciation, adaptation and rates of evolution |
| Name | Position | Research interests |
|---|---|---|
| Dr Patrick Cannon | Postdoctoral Research Associate | Conspecific negative density dependence, selective logging, tropical ecology |
| Dr Jacob Gardner | Leverhulme Trust Early Career Fellow | Ecogeography, evolutionary responses to climate change, macroevolution, paleobiology, paleobiogeography, phylogenetics |
| Dr Pablo M. Lucas | MSCA Postdoctoral Fellow | Conservation biology, climate change, macroecology |
| Dr Andre Parise | Research Associate | Plant and fungal electrophysiology, non-neural cognition |
| Dr Claire Smith | Research Associate | Fluid specimens in museums |
| Dr Jamie Thompson | Leverhulme Trust Early Career Fellow | Macroevolution, diversification, trait evolution, biogeography, responses to climate change, phylogenetic comparative methods |
Emeritus and visiting professors
| Name | Position | Research interests |
|---|---|---|
| Professor John Barnett (Emeritus) | ||
| Professor Nick Battey (Emeritus) | ||
| Professor Emeritus Philip John | Production of natural indigo; phytochemical analysis of food and beverages | |
|
Professor Sir Ghillean Prance |
Visiting Professor | |
| Professor Helmut van Emden (Emeritus Professor of Horticulture) | Insect-plant relationships from plant communities to individual plant phenotypes. GM crops and resistance to crop pests. Artificial diet for aphids. | |
| Professor Richard Sibly | Professor Emeritus |
Honorary research fellows and visiting and affiliate lecturers
| Name | Position | Research interests |
|---|---|---|
| Dr Richard Carter | Visiting Lecturer | |
| Dr Bob Froud-Williams | Honorary Fellow | |
| Dr Graham Holloway | Associate Professor (Retired) | Insect conservation, biodiversity, and taxonomy. Evolution of insect colour patterns |
| Nigel Larkin | Visiting Research Fellow | Palaeontology |
| Dr Glynn Percival | Visiting Research Fellow | Arboriculture, enterprise |
| Dr Susumu Yamada | Visiting Research Fellow | Restoration ecology |
Visit our School of Biological Sciences staff page for senior management team, administrative staff and technical support staff contact details.