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Biography
I collected groundwater and sediment samples in South Dakota, US, for my Msci project and will analyse these for future research. For my PhD work I hope to build a meaningful collaboration with local Native American communities in South Dakota who suffer from health disparities arising from groundwater contamination.
I have previously completed two summer research internships which have given me insightful experience in independent research. In 2023 I did an internship with Dr Samuel Mitchell involved categorising the substrate, geology, and biology of submarine data from an expedition on “Deep-sea Coral Reefs in the Galápagos”. I also recently volunteered to help slice sediment cores from the Galápagos and perform preliminary analysis at the National Oceanography Centre (NOC) in Southampton.
For my research internship with Professor Mike Benton in 2022, I created a series of paleo-climate maps using QGIS and delivered a presentation on “Climate Change Across the PETM (Palaeocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum)” at a research fair.
Research interests
I am fascinated by the wide range of processes on Earth, from microbes at a nanoscale, to entire planetary systems at a global scale.
My PhD is project is on "Combining light and bacteria to design cheap and sustainable methods of arsenic and uranium removal from drinking water sources".
Iron-oxidising bacteria uses energy from sunlight and naturally produce iron biominerals which have been observed to be effective at removing heavy metalloids, such as uranium, in a process known as microbial bioremediation. Microbial bioremediation has the potential to provide a point-of-source water treatment for rural communities that is economical, safe, and sustainable. My focus is on developing an appropriate water treatment for the Native American, Pine Ridge Reservation, in South Dakota who rely on private groundwater wells susceptible to arsenic and uranium contamination.