Scottish Government’s Main Research Providers Inter-Institutional Post Graduate Research Competition
And
Dr Sandra Knapp’s Science For Life Lecture
“Bringing the ends of the plant science circle together for Earth’s future”

Every year, Scottish Government’s Main Research Providers hold an Inter-Institutional Post Graduate Research Competition and “Science For Life” Lecture.

This year on Tuesday 28th and Wednesday 29th June, the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh played host to the PhD students, Post Graduate Training Officers and Supervisors, and Scientific Staff of the 6 Main Research Providers: Biomathematics and Statistics Scotland (BioSS); The James Hutton Institute (JHI); Moredun Research Institute (MRI); University of Aberdeen, Rowett Institute of Nutrition and Health (RINH); Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE); and Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC).

The Competition provided an opportunity to show off the best of our research and the talents of young researchers from around Scotland, to build links between the Institutions and to increase awareness of each other’s work.

All the Presentations and Posters were of an exceptionally high standard this year.

Winners were announced as follows:

Presentation Competition Winners

Presentations_1st_Sally Eaton RBGE1st Place
Sally Eaton
Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh
Landscape Scale Conservation of Epiphytes in Scottish Temperate Rainforests [talk 12]

 


Presentations_2nd_Shona Strachan JHI2nd Place
Shona Strachan
The James Hutton Institute
The Search for Nematode Resistance Mapping the H2 Gene [talk 7]

 

 

Presentations_3rd_Jolinda Pollock SRUC3rd Place
Jolinda Pollock
Scotland’s Rural College
Gut microbiota dynamics in weaner pigs in response to experimental enterotoxigenic E. coli challenge [talk 9]

Also presenting:

Joseph Palmer
The James Hutton Institute
Pathogenic Clostridia in the Environment [talk 1]

Rebecca McLean
Moredun Research Institute
Interactions between ovine lentiviral vaccine vectors and primary cells in vitro [talk 2]

Rafael Silva
Scotland’s Rural College
Modelling sustainable intensification in the Brazilian livestock sector [talk 3]

Ashley Gorman
The James Hutton Institute
The role of seedbank composition and biotic function in vulnerable erosive agroecosystems [talk 4]

Teodora Georgescu
University of Aberdeen, Rowett Institute of Nutrition and Health
Characterisation of brainstem pro-opiomelanocortin neurones [talk 5]

Katie Emelianova
Biomathematics and Statistics Scotland
Mining Begonia genomic resources to find candidate genes for ecological diversification [talk 6]

Jennifer Harbottle
University of Aberdeen, Rowett Institute of Nutrition and Health
The environmental stress response as a target for therapeutic intervention [talk 8]

Jennifer Slater
The James Hutton Institute
Do plants have internet Interplant communication via common mycorrhizal networks [talk 10]

Lynsey Melville
Moredun Research Institute
Benzimidazole resistance in Nematodirus battus [talk 11]


Poster Competition Winners

Poster_1st Place_Jennifer Slater JHI1st Place
Jennifer Slater
James Hutton Institute
Do plants have internet Interplant communication via common mycorrhizal networks

 

 

Posters_2nd Place_Rebecca Mclean MRI2nd Place
Rebecca McLean
Moredun Research Institute
Interactions between ovine lentiviral vaccine vectors and primary cells in vitro

 

Posters_3rd Place_Jennifer Harbottle RINH3rd Place
Jennifer Harbottle
University of Aberdeen, Rowett Institute of Nutrition and Health
A cell based assay system for the analysis of phytochchemicals activating the ESR

Also presenting:

Teodora Georgescu
University of Aberdeen, Rowett Institute of Nutrition and Health
Characterisation of brainstem pro-opiomelanocortin neurons

Flávia Pezzini
Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh
Phylogeny and biogeography of Ceiba Mill. (Malvaceae: Bombacoideae) using next-generation, targeted enrichment sequencing

Laura Stoddart
Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh
Sites of Nineteenth Century Botanical Science

With special thanks to

Dr Sandra Knapp, Merit Researcher, and Head of Division at the Natural History Museum London who gave a talk on “Bringing the ends of the plant science circle together for Earth’s future”.

Dr Sandy Knapp

The Presentation and Poster Competition Judges: Dr Ian Simpson (BioSS), Prof. John Innes (JHI), Dr George Russell (Moredun), Dr Charles Beswich (RINH), Dr Catherine Kidner (RBGE), and Dr Mark Hocart (SRUC).

The Presentation Session Chairs from the RBGE: Dr Katy Hayden (Cryptogams), Hannah Atkins (Tropical Diversity), Dr Rebecca Yahr (Cryptogams), and Dr Laura Forrest (Science & Technology Services).

And of course to all the Post-Graduate Students who have worked incredibly hard to be able to participate in the Competition

Click below to view:

For queries and information please contact: Rachael Brewer, PA to the Director of Science

Photos

Lynsey Melville, Moredun Ashley Gorman, JHI

 

 

 

 

 

Jennifer Harbottle, RINH

Jolinda Pollock, SRUC

 

 

 

 

Teodora Georgescu, RINH

Katie Emelianova, BioSS

 

 

 

 

Shona Strachan, JHI Sally Eaton, RBGE

 

 

 

 

 

Jennifer Slater, JHIDr Sandra Knapp, NHM (3)

 

 

 

 

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Presentation and Poster Entrants

 

Poster winners and Regius Keeper

 

 

 

 

 

 

Prof Pete Hollingsworth, Director of Science RBGE & Dr Sandra Knapp, NHMDr Sandra Knapp, NHM