I am a Lecturer in Environmental Science at the School of Health and Life Sciences. I am a Fellow of Advance HE (FHEA). And also a member (full) of the British Society of Soil Science, and a member of the British Bryological Society.

I got my PhD from Keele University, School of Geography, Geology and the Environment. My research was focused on peatlands and forest ecology under global change. I elucidated if increased reactive nitrogen (Nr) deposition slows or shuts down biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) under chronic Nr deposition. The key innovation in my research was to develop a method that could accurately quantify field BNF rates. I collaborated and worked with the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) in Umea, Sweden, Natural England and RSPB, UK and UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, and investigated BNF in a south-north transect from England to northern Sweden at representative peatland sites.

My collaborative research provided novel insights into BNF suppression in relation to mineral N speciation and generated policy relevant findings that chronic Nr deposition can eventually result in ecological change from peatlands to shrub-dominated non-wetland ecosystems. A key aspect of my new method is its application for the quantification of BNF in temperate deciduous forests at the Free Air Carbon Enrichment Facility of the Birmingham Institute of Forest Research (BiFOR), where I have carried out some collaborations.

After my PhD I moved to the School of Chemical and Physical Sciences, Keele University, as a Postdoctoral Research Associate (PDRA) in Environmental Analytical Chemistry to work in a project in collaboration with the National Engineering University (UNI in Spanish) in Lima, Peru, and the Birmingham Institute of Forest Research, University of Birmingham. I worked with chemists and computational chemists and developed a low-cost portable digital colourimeter for detection of analytes (e.g. NO₃^-, Na⁺) in water (including soil extracts), as well as for continuous monitoring of atmospheric NO₂.

Next, in 2020, I joined the NERC-NSF programme “Signals in the Soil”, DiRTS project (£1.5M), as PDRA for developing in situ sensors for plant nutrients in forest and agricultural soils. My research focused on the development of a set of electrochemical sensors for in-situ determination of plant nutrients. This was part of a wider project, which involved Keele University, the University of Birmingham (BiFOR), in the UK, and Tufts University in the USA. At Keele University, I developed and engineered a prototype sensor that has been tested at BiFOR FACE facility. My sensors’ measurements are processed by a tailor-made package (ISEtools) developed in collaboration with Otago University (New Zealand) using the free software OpenBUGS and R. While working on this project I had a brief spell (1 semester) as Lecturer in Chemistry. 

After this project, in 2023, I joined Teesside University as lecturer in environmental science.

Teaching:

Modules:

Experimental Methods for Life Sciences (level 3) - module tutor.

Global Environmental Issues (level 4) - module leader.

Rivers and Coasts (level 5) - module leader.

Hydrology and Hydraulic Systems (level 6) - module leader.

Sustainable Georesources (level 6) - module tutor.

Environmental Management (level 7) - module tutor.

Global Water Resources (level 7) - module leader.

Research interests:

1. Development of environmental sensors. (Electrochemical and optical readout)
2. Biogeochemistry of N and C across ecosystems under land use and climate change (peatlands, forests, hyporheic zone, agricultural soils)
3. Water quality (nutrient neutrality, nature-based solutions, green infrastructures).

PhD and research opportunities

If you are interested in applying for an external PhD scholarship and you are looking for a host, please email me.