Staff profile

I am currently a Botany PhD candidate at the University of Durham having completed my Master’s and BSc degrees in Plant Sciences at the University of Dundee where I received Top Project accreditation for my Master’s thesis work in the McKim lab by the Royal Society of Biology. My interests focus on crop improvement and utilising plants to tackle global issues such as food insecurities and climate change. I am particularly passionate about efforts towards producing climate resilient crops which my current research focuses on and will aim to build understanding towards.

My current project in Professor Heather Knight’s lab is focused on elucidating the roles (and their underlying mechanisms) of a novel gene SENSITIVE-TO-FREEZING 10 (SFR10) encoding a protein involved in the freezing tolerance and high light acclimation of plants. Findings will ultimately build towards the production of cold-hardy plants with a raised photosynthetic yield – working towards mitigating issues brought about by climate change associated late spring/early autumn frosts and global demands for increasing food production.