Opening the door to
Warwick HRI Sacha White talks about his PhD Greenhouse horticulture is an economically important industry across the world, and one that is predicted to grow considerably over the coming years. Such horticulture brings many benefits, including year-round, high quality produce and the cultivation of crops otherwise impossible to grow locally. However, with this comes a number of major environmental impacts, including high water consumption, plant protective chemical and carbon fossil inputs, as well as waste disposal and emission issues. I am in the second year of a PhD that aims to reduce the need for plant protective chemicals in greenhouse production. Cultural control techniques such as altering the growth environment of the crop can assist in pest and disease control. As such my work examines the effects of altering the temperature, humidity and light environment on two model crop systems. These crop systems are; tomato and its pest Oidium neolycopersici (tomato powdery mildew), and rose and its pest Tetranychus urticae (two-spotted spider mite). The use of biological control agents in greenhouse production are an important tool for growers so these are also being investigated for both crop systems.
Newsletter October 2009
Contents Sacha White talks about his PhD
P1
University of the Year
P2
PhD studentships
P2
Open Evening
P2
Life after Warwick HRI: Dr Emilie Combet
P3
Living with Environmental Change
P4
MSc Study Opportunities
P5
Meet the team
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Funded by the European Union, this PhD is part of a larger, four-year project called EUPHOROS. This aims to revolutionise greenhouse horticulture by developing sustainable greenhouse systems that do not use any fossil energy, minimise the carbon footprint of equipment and the use of plant protective chemicals, waste no water, emit no fertiliser and recycle substrates fully. It endeavours to achieve this while maintaining high productivity and resource use efficiency. The opportunity to conduct this research at Warwick HRI was one of the main attractions of the PhD. The facilities on the site are first-class, from state-of-the-art laboratories to extensive greenhouse facilities. I also benefit from being able to work with researchers at the top of their field as well as an invaluable array of support staff. Page 1
Warwick shortlisted for University of the Year Warwick has been shortlisted for ‘University of the Year’ in this year’s Times Higher Education (THE) Awards. Six universities have made the shortlist for the University of the Year award, which looks at the institution’s performance in several areas such as research, teaching, access and business performance. Judges also look for specific evidence of particularly bold, imaginative and innovative initiatives that have advanced the University’s reputation in the last year. The Times Higher Education Awards, now in their fifth year, aim to recognise the cutting edge work undertaken by UK higher education institutions. Categories include Best Student Experience, Widening Participation Initiative of the Year, Outstanding Support for Overseas Students, Marketing Initiative of the Year, Outstanding Contribution to the Local Community and Outstanding Support for Disabled Students.
3 and 4 year BBSRC PhD studentships in Life Sciences available We are looking for enthusiastic and motivated students to train for careers in tomorrow’s life science industries. Warwick Life Sciences offers a unique high quality interdisciplinary PhD training environment with the fusion of research excellence from departments across the Faculty of Science and Warwick Medical School. A spectrum of topics in Life Sciences research are covered ranging from whole-organism animal and plant research to single-molecule structural biology. Interdisciplinary research is an increasingly prominent theme, with numerous groups engaged in collaborative studies on small- and large-scale biological problems. Three types of PhD entry are available to start in October 2010: • 4 year PhD incorporating an initial 9-month practical training course. Applicants will have identified their preferred PhD project and supervisor. • 4 year PhD incorporating the same 9 month practical training course, but applicants can choose a PhD project and supervisor at the end of the training course. • 3 year PhD for those already holding an MSc or equivalent professional qualification or experience. Applicants will have chosen their PhD project and supervisor. Eligibility is restricted to UK nationals and those of equivalent status (fees paid, plus £13,290 per annum stipend) or EU Nationals (fees only, no stipend). Full details, including a portfolio of available PhD projects, admissions information and eligibility criteria can be found on the website at: www.warwick.ac.uk/go/lifesciencephd
Open Evening Anne Kretzschmar, a 3rd year PhD student, participated in our annual Open Evening for over 60 local gardeners and growers. At the location of her Warwick HRI field trials, she described her research on carrot cavity spot, particularly the 3-year rotation trial and 3 companion plant trials she is conducting.
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Life after Warwick HRI - Dr Emilie Combet
I studied biological and biochemical engineering at the Université Claude Bernard in Lyon, France. After graduating in 2000, I went to Coventry University as an ERASMUS direct entrant and graduated with a 1st class BSc (Hons) in Biological Sciences. My tutor at the time, Janey Henderson (now an Associate Dean at Teeside University), introduced me to Kerry Burton and Richard Napier of Warwick HRI whom she was collaborating with, and suggested I might want to apply for a PhD there. The project sounded exciting, so I moved to Warwick HRI to work on my PhD under the supervision of Kerry Burton and others. My thesis title was ‘Eight-carbon volatiles biosynthesis in Agaricus bisporus’ looking at the oxidative pathway leading from fats to flavour biogenesis in fungi. The work involved a wide range of technical skills, including gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Kerry Burton made my time at Warwick HRI very enjoyable and he remains a good friend to this day. He gave me a lot of freedom to explore my own ideas, and encouraged me to present findings at several conferences, which were definitely key in developing new ideas and gaining confidence in my research. I now really enjoy public speaking and I think this is a very important skill to have as a scientist. I was also encouraged from early on to secure my own funding to attend conferences, and to seek the many opportunities offered to postgraduate students in terms of training, visiting grants, presentation opportunities and demonstrating This gave me a good understanding of funding application processes and some budget management skills. After being awarded a PhD in 2005, I played on the diversity of technical skills I had learned at Warwick HRI to apply for a post-doctoral position at the University of Glasgow Faculty of Medicine, in the group of Prof K.E.L. McColl, FRSE. While the new project was in a totally different research area (gastroenterology and nitrosation), it relied heavily on gas chromatography-mass spectrometry expertise. The project was highly collaborative and allowed me to diversify both my research interests and skills, as well as my project, people and finance managing skills. After 4 years working on this very exiting project, interacting with clinicians and academics, I applied for a lectureship in Nutrition within the faculty. The supervisory experience I had at Warwick HRI and Glasgow University, with summer students, and the teaching experience gained demonstrating at both Coventry and Glasgow Universities, were definitely helpful in securing my current appointment. I was appointed Lecturer in Nutrition earlier on in 2009, and look forward to officially contributing to the curriculum this new academic year, both at undergraduate and postgraduate level. Meanwhile, I am still actively involved in research, focussing on the role of nutrition and dietary phytochemicals on chronic malignancies and ageing. Dr Emilie Combet is a Lecturer in Human Nutrition, Yorkhill Section of the Division of Developmental Medicine at the University of Glasgow. http://www.gla.ac.uk/departments/humannutrition/ourstaff/ staffworkingprimarilyinhumannutrition/academicstaff/dremiliecombet Page 3
Living with Environmental Change The University of Warwick: providing knowledge and tools to help people live with environmental change. We are entering a period of unprecedented environmental change that, if not addressed, threatens ecosystems, agriculture, health and our built environment. In response to this challenge, the UK has launched a major tenyear interdisciplinary research and policy programme, LWEC (Living with Environmental Change). As one of the UK’s leading research and teaching establishments, the University of Warwick is ideally placed to address the global issues connected with environmental change. We have a world-class reputation for innovation, enterprise, and partnership. We deliver knowledge and tools to help people adapt to environmental change and develop the low carbon economy. We provide evidence for policy development by governments, industry and civil society. Through our teaching, communication and outreach programmes, we engage with people over the implications, opportunities and solutions to environmental change.
We continue our series outlining our research projects that fit with the objectives of the LWEC programme LWEC Objectives:
A
To predict the impacts of climate change, mitigate or adapt to these and manage extreme events.
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To manage ecosystems for human well-being and protect the natural environment as it changes.
C
To promote human wellbeing, alleviate poverty and minimise waste by ensuring a sustainable supply of food and water.
D
To protect human, plant and animal health from diseases, pests and environmental hazards.
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To make infrastructure, the built environment and transport systems resilient to environmental change.
F
To help people from different cultural and social backgrounds respond to a changing environment.
Seed dormancy and the control of germination. - led by Professor Bill Finch-Savage
C
A
Dormancy defines the environmental conditions in which a seed is able to germinate. It is not a constant, but cycles in response to environmental signals that are seasonally characteristic and integrated by the seed over time. In this way, seeds gear themselves to germinate and establish in a favourable habitat and climate space. This process has considerable potential for disruption from human-induced environmental change. We are using molecular techniques in an ecophysiological context to improve understanding of this process. In continuing work we are characterising cycling behaviour in a dormant accession (Cvi) of the model species Arabidopsis under both controlled laboratory and variable field conditions. Microarray analysis has been used to obtain transcriptional profiles for key states induced by different environmental signals. We have identified similarity underlying these states and core gene sets that change in a quantitative manner with depth of dormancy apparently driven by a dynamic hormonal balance of both synthesis and catabolism. We are currently extending this understanding gained in the model species to other members of the Brassicaceae that are important agricultural weeds. In parallel work we are developing models to describe this dormancy cycling of weeds in response to variable environmental signals. These models will be used to extend an existing simulation that can be used for predicting the seedling emergence patterns of both crops and weeds that determines the intensity of subsequent competition between them. Scenario testing the impact of both historic and predicted future weather data on these seedling emergence patterns can be used in developing weed control practices for more sustainable production systems where chemical weed control options are significantly limited. Page 4
Postgraduate study opportunities
W
arwick HRI is dedicated to academic excellence in plant and microbial sciences and the application of research to improve crops and the environment. Teaching and research are underpinned by core capabilities in mathematical biology, biometrics, genomics and bioinformatics.
MSc Environmental Bioscience in a Changing Climate Exploiting natural resources affects the global climate, agricultural production and biodiversity. This course explores solutions for the sustainable provision of food, materials, energy and landscape in a changing global environment. www.warwick.ac.uk/go/whri/study/mscenvbioscience
MSc Enterprise in Horticulture
This course is designed for those seeking a career in businesses involved in growing, supplying and marketing fresh produce in competitive markets. A commercial placement or research project enables students to put research skills into practice, matching skills and business needs. www.warwick.ac.uk/go/whri/study/mscenterprise
MSc Plant Bioscience for Crop Production
Global improvements in crop production depend on the knowledge-led application of plant science and biotechnology. This course provides you with cutting-edge research skills across a broad range of plant science disciplines. www.warwick.ac.uk/go/whri/study/mscbioscience
MSc by Research
This is a practical course based on a research project under the supervision a research leader. Warwick HRI’s extensive facilities offer the chance to use the latest technologies for innovative personal study. If you are interested in this degree, please contact an appropriate research leader or the Director of Graduate Studies. www.warwick.ac.uk/go/whri/study/mscresearch
MSc Email enquiries: whri.msc@warwick.ac.uk Page 5
Meet the team... Professor Richard Napier Director of Graduate Studies Course Leader: MSc Enterprise in Horticulture
Dr Stephen Jackson Director of Postgraduate Research
richard.napier@warwick.ac.uk
stephen.jackson@warwick.ac.uk
Dr Kerry Burton Course Leader: MSc Plant Bioscience for Crop Production
Dr Paul Neve Course Leader: MSc Environmental Bioscience in a Changing Climate
kerry.burton@warwick.ac.uk
p.neve@warwick.ac.uk
Miss Nikki Glover Postgraduate Co-ordinator
Mrs Denny Croft MSc Teaching Co-ordinator
nicola.glover@warwick.ac.uk
denny.croft@warwick.ac.uk
Useful websites University of Warwick: www.warwick.ac.uk Warwick HRI: www.warwickhri.ac.uk Postgraduate study: www.warwick.ac.uk/go/whri/study International Office: www.warwick.ac.uk/go/international Take a Tour of Warwick HRI: www.warwick.ac.uk/go/whri/study/video Preview Podcasts: www.warwick.ac.uk/go/whri/study/podcasts
www.warwickhri.ac.uk
Warwick HRI The University of Warwick Wellesbourne Warwickshire CV35 9EF UNITED KINGDOM Phone: + 44 (0)2476 574455 Fax: +44 (0) 2476 574500 MSc Email Enquiries: whri.msc@warwick.ac.uk PhD Email Enquiries: whri.phd@warwick.ac.uk
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