Evolving grass pea from ‘orphan’ crop to staple food
September 8, 2021
This post is written by Drs Peter Emmrich and Levi Yant. Malnutrition from protein deficiency is a widespread problem and concern. Populations in the developing world are at particular risk due to the higher costs of animal proteins when compared to plant proteins. These populations therefore tend to rely on protein-rich plant-based foods like beans, …
Exploring diversity in pearl millet seed – An interview with Brighton Gapare
February 12, 2021
Brighton Gapare is a joint Nottingham-Rothamsted PhD Student 2019–2023. His project is entitled ‘Exploring genetic diversity in grain structure, composition and functionality of pearl millet germplasm’. His supervisors are Dr. Rahul Bhosale (UoN), Prof. Malcom Bennett (UoN) and Prof. Peter Shewry (RRes). He also works with Dr Neil Graham (UoN), Prof. David Cook (UoN), Prof. …
How does rice reproduce when it’s hot? – An interview with Maureen Ng’ang’a
January 29, 2021
Maureen Ng’ang’a is a second-year PhD student on the UoN-Rothamsted Graduate Centre for International Agriculture scheme. Her project is entitled ‘TempR: Developing reproductive resilience to heat stress in rice’. Her supervisors are: Dr. Sigrid Heuer (RRes), Prof. Zoe Wilson (UoN) and Prof. Erik Murchie (UoN). Why did you decide to do a PhD? What were …
Improving Brassica rapa for better nutrition – An interview with Dr Guillermina Mendiondo
December 7, 2020
Dr Guillermina Mendiondo is an Assistant Professor in Translational Crop Science at The University of Nottingham. She works on different plant species as part of her work on crop molecular genetics within the Future Food Beacon. The origins of the project In 2018, Dr Mendiondo travelled to South Africa and visited farmers in KwaZulu-Natal as …
How can the winged bean improve our futures? An interview with Chong Yuet Tian
October 2, 2020
Tian is a Future Food Beacon Malaysia PhD student under the supervision of Prof. Festo Massawe, Dr. Hui Hui Chai and Dr. Ajit Singh. She obtained a BSc (Hons) in Agricultural Science before joining University of Nottingham Malaysia to research genetic improvement of crop plants, especially minor and underutilised crops. She is currently researching winged …
Resistance to disease in tropical crops – an interview with Professor Pathmanathan Umaharan
September 17, 2020
Professor Pathmanathan Umaharan (‘Uma’) is the Director of the Cocoa Research Centre, University of the West Indies. The Future Food Beacon is proud to welcome him as an Honorary Professor for the 2020/21 academic year. We spoke with Uma about his research career, current projects, and collaborations with Future Food. Tell me about your work. What is your research about? …
Understanding genetic variation in winged bean: an interview with Niki Tsoutsoura
July 1, 2020
Niki is a PhD candidate with the Future Proteins Platform. Niki holds an MSc. in Crop Improvement from the University of Nottingham. During her MSc studies, she became familiar with underutilised crops like winged bean. Underutilised crops are relatively underexploited as they have low economic importance or agricultural significance in developed economies, therefore they receive …
Genomic sequencing and Covid-19
April 30, 2020
Deep Seq, the University of Nottingham’s state of the art high-throughput genomics facility, is currently part of the COVID-19 Genomics UK Consortium, mapping the spread of coronavirus. We spoke to Prof Matt Loose and Dr Christopher Moore, about the work, the equipment they use, and how they are adjusting to this new challenge. Tell us …
Genomic characterisation of the University of Nottingham dairy herd
December 18, 2019
This post is written by Dr Sarah Blott, Associate Professor in Animal Breeding and Genetics, in the School of Veterinary Medicine and Science. Milk and dairy products are a significant source of nutrition in the human diet; the first evidence of dairy consumption dates back over 6,000 years, and today dairy farming is a global …
Working between the field and the lab: understanding barley
August 1, 2019
August 1st is Lammas, a day traditionally celebrating the first harvests of the season. Summer wheat, oats, rye, and barley grains are all harvested from now until October, and the first loaf of bread is baked with the new grains. How does the beginning of the harvest season affect our researchers and their work? Dr Guillermina …
