I am a Soil Ecologist (PhD in Soil Science - to be defended) with a background in Entomology (MSc) and Biological Sciences (BSc). I apply interdisciplinary techniques to further our understanding on how soil organisms, from microbes to macrofauna, interact with each other and with abiotic factors.
The focus of my PhD research was on the impact of agricultural management practices on soil biological and physicochemical properties. The project belonged to the AgroCycle consortium, a Horizon 2020 research and innovation project addressing the circular economy of the agri-food sector. AgroCycle was a collaboration between 26 partners from the EU, China and Hong Kong, and encompassed various stakeholders from practitioners, academia to industry.
I have been involved with ECOinsect Ltd in collaboration with Harper Adams University and University of Reading. We looked into the scaling up potential of using Black Soldier Flies (BSF) as animal feed and into the valorisation of byproducts that originate from insect rearing. My role related to the latter, where I was responsible for the running of glasshouse trials aimed to better understand the response of crops and associated soil properties to BSF byproducts.
I am currently involved with soil organic carbon (SOC) benchmarking of Harper Adams University Farm soils.