Dr Thorunn Helgason
Senior Lecturer
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Profile
Career
| 2014 - | Senior Lecturer | Department of Biology, University of York |
| 2004 - 2014 | Lecturer | Department of Biology, University of York |
| 2000 - 2005 | Lecturer (part-time) | The Open University |
| 1996 - 2004 | PostDoc (part time) | Department of Biology, University of York |
| 1993 - 1996 | Researcher | Tropical plant taxonomy, Natural History Museum, London |
| 1989 - 1993 | PhD | Institute of Ecology and Resource Management, University of Edinburgh |
| 1988 - 1989 | Researcher | Forestry Research Station, Iceland |
| 1988 | BSc (Hons) | Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Edinburgh |
Research
Overview
Microbes, (bacteria, archaea, fungi) are key functional groups in ecosystems, acting as a drivers of major transitions in nutrient cycles. My research focuses on variation in biodiversity, distribution and function of key microbial groups in field based systems. Recent advances in next generation sequencing technologies allow the microbiome of field systems to be studied in detail, and current research projects use these technologies to understand nutrient cycling in agriculture and epidemiology in honeybees.
A major research area in my group is the Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi (AMF). These symbionts are key conduits of mineral nutrients between plants and soils, and variation in AMF communities has the potential to affect large scale ecosystem function. My research focuses on determining what controls AM biodiversity, including host plant effects, water and oxygen availability, and soil environment, and how these factors affect fungal fitness and evolution. We study this using manipulative field experiments, molecular and bioinformatic approaches.
Projects
SoilBioHedge: harnessing hedgerow soil biodiversity for restoration to arable soil quality and resillience to climatic extremes and land use change
NERC Soil Security Programme
Explaining niche separation in tropical forests: feedbacks between root-fungal symbiosis and soil phosphorus partitioning
NERC Standard grant
MycoRhizaSoil:Combining wheat genotypes with cultivation methods to facilitate mycorrhizosphere organisms improving soil quality and crop resilience
BBSRC GFS-SARISA programme
Do realignment sites restore microbial biodiversity-driven nutrient cycling and trace gas fluxes comparable to natural coastal ecosystems
BESS directed research programme
Research group(s)
| Status | Name | Project |
|---|---|---|
| PhD student | Phil Brailey | Can soil microbial diversity mitigate water stress and maintain crop yield in agricultural systems? |
| PhD student | Stephen Brignall | Understanding the influence of in-field biodiversity conservation on the environmental fate of crop |
| PhD student | Erin Haskell | Direct and indirect impacts of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi on plant defence and community diversity |
| PhD student | Nicola Burns | Genetic and environmental effects on virulence of American Foulbrood, a bacterial pathogen of honeybee |
| PhD student | Pasky (Jean-Pascal) Miranda | The role of soil structure and fungi in the degradation of crop protection products |
| Postdoctoral Researcher | Dr Joe Taylor |
Explaining niche separation in tropical forests: feedbacks between root-fungal symbioses and soil ph |
| Research Technician | Dr Susannah Bird |
SoilBioHedge: harnessing hedgerow soil biodiversity for restoration of arable soil quality and resilience |
| Research Technician | Michaela Nelson | MycoRhizaSoil: Combining wheat genotypes with cultivation methods to facilitate mycorrhizosphere |
Available PhD research projects
Microbes and environmental change: the importance of interactions in maintaining ecosystem function (2015-16)
Applicants can develop projects based on communities of microbes relevant to ecology and ecosystem function. Many ecosystem processes, such as nutrient cycling, productivity and maintenance of biodiversity depend upon interactions with microbial populations. It is increasingly important that we understand the structure and function of microbial communities and how they respond to environmental change. The project will focus on one group of microbes which may include soil prokaryotes (e.g. methanogens) or arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi Using a combination of field sampling, manipulated experiments and advanced molecular ecology/bioinformatic techniques including next generation sequencing, the student will develop hypotheses and tests to further our understanding of these important processes.
