Academic Advisory Group
Our Academic Advisory Group helps us shape the future development of AberInnovation, ensuring that our activities and development are led by the latest developments from the knowledge base.
The Group comprises of University colleagues from a range of academic and professional services departments.
Dr Otar did his BSc in Electronic Engineering and MSc in Embedded Systems and Robotics. His PhD work focused on robot learning by demonstration under the supervision of Prof Ulrich Nehmzow at University of Essex. After his PhD he joined Dr Paolo Fiorini’s research group in Verona, Italy to work in an EU-FP7 project, which interfaced biology and engineering to develop a bio-inspired fish robot with an artificial lateral line. His growing interest in the biological aspects of movement and sensing led him to join Dr James C. Liao’s laboratory at Whitney Institute for Marine Biology in University of Florida. There he investigated the underlying principles of fish locomotion in steady and turbulent flows for efficient movement and energy capture and the organisation of the lateral line system from a distributed sensing perspective.
In 2017, he took up a Lectureship in the Department of Computer Science at Aberystwyth University. In Aberystwyth, he has expanded his research portfolio to human health, mainly focusing on artificial intelligence and chronic disease management. With Dr Federico Villagra from Institute of Biology, Environmental and Rural Sciences, they have founded the Aberystwyth Stroke Research Group.
Dr Allison is an expert in chromatographic/mass spectrometry, vibrational spectroscopy and imaging, thermochemical analysis, and statistical and chemometric data modelling. He is responsible for coordinating the MSc in Biotechnology and teaches broadly at undergraduate and post graduate levels as well as interacts with industry and provides underpinning in IBERS for chemical and data analysis.
Dr Bryant is a plant and microbial scientist who specialises in biorefining technologies and fermentation processes to maximise biological production of sustainable chemicals using non-food crops and industrial waste streams as feedstock. Supported through Climate-KIC, Welsh Government, Innovate UK, Newton-Bhabha and BBSRC funding, he is and has been a principal investigator of international multi-partner consortia of academic and industrial partners.
These programmes have been aimed at producing economically viable chemical alternatives to petrochemical incumbents, thereby helping to develop bioeconomic growth, contribute towards Net-Zero 2050 and deliver Climate Change Impact.
Dr Beckmann obtained his doctorate in analytical chemistry at the C.v.O University Oldenburg, Germany, on the identification of pheromones in marine polychaetes. Since then he has contributed as a marine chemical ecologist to measure and estimate production of green house gases in wetlands and to the investigation of metabolic changes in GM-crops, during host-pathogen interactions and dietary effects on mammalian biofluids.
Manfred is now a research lecturer and Metabolomics Champion in the High-Resolution Metabolomics Laboratory at Aberystwyth University. His research interests are in high through-put ultra-high-resolution metabolomics of difficult matrices and ‘real world samples.’
Dr Davey is a Reader in Biology and the Director of Learning and Teaching for the Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences at Aberystwyth University.
Hazel graduated from Aberystwyth University with a BSc in Zoology and Microbiology and a PhD on Flow Cytometry of Microorganisms. She is also an elected member of AU Senate.
Professor Doonan has more than 25 years’ experience in genetics and developmental cell biology of plants and fungi. Before joining IBERS as Director of the National Plant Phenomics Centre, he was Group Leader at the John Innes Centre in Norwich. Previous to that, John worked at the Robert Wood Johnston Medical School in New Jersey, USA and obtained his PhD from Leeds University.
John’s research includes developing high content phenotyping technologies at the National Plant Phenomics Centre that will allow the better exploitation of genomic-type information in the process of both gene discovery and plant breeding.
Professor Draper manages the High Resolution Metabolomics Laboratory and is responsible for the oversight of Enabling Technologies within IBERS including core facilities for Metabolomics, Next Generation Sequencing, Plant Phenomics and Bioinformatics. His various research projects are supported by grants from the BBSRC, The Food Standards Agency and Industry.
Dr Howells joined AU in 2009 as INTERREG Project Coordinator, joining Research Business and Innovation in 2021 to advise on EU Structural and Research & Innovation funding.
Anne has held roles within Higher Education, Private Industry and the Civil Service, with an academic background, a PhD in Chemistry and a joint honour BSc in Chemistry and Biochemistry. She also has ten years’ experience as Research and Development Manager with an innovative chemical consumables manufacturing SME based in South Wales, managing collaborations with Pharmaceutical Companies and Contract Research Organisations.
Dr Gallagher graduated from the National University of Ireland, Maynooth (BSc. In Biology and Chemistry, PhD in antimicrobial compounds, fungal fermentation and yeast biochemistry. Joe has since worked in the areas of microbial and plant molecular biology, enzymology and biochemistry.
Initially Joe studied the characterisation, cloning and expression of recombinant cellulases and chitinases from both fungi and bacteria, and later on the genes and enzymes involved in carbohydrate metabolism in grasses and clovers. Other research activities include biorefining of plant feedstocks to fine and bulk chemicals including biofuels.
Dr Jones joined Aberystwyth University in 1999 and is currently a Reader in the IBERS Ecology Group. Dylan completed his PhD at Bangor University jointly with CEH Bush in Edinburgh on the future effects of elevated carbon dioxide on trees. He previously worked as a post-doctoral researcher at the Universities of Sheffield and Manchester engaging with research on several European projects.
Dylan’s research interests on elevated carbon dioxide and also plant stressors continue to the current day but has diversified to also include agricultural and horticultural crops. He investigates ‘stress tools’ and using stressor exposure to manipulate plant chemistry and crop quality.
Dr Lloyd has a BSc in Genetics and Biochemistry as well as a PhD in Metabolomics and Plant Pathology.
Together with Professor John Draper and Dr Manfred Beckmann, Amanda is interested in developing standardised protocols for nutritional metabolomics investigations for monitoring metabolic changes in response to both acute and habitual dietary exposure. Techniques employed include high throughput metabolomic fingerprinting based on Flow Infusion Electrospray Ionization-Mass Spectrometry (FIE-MS), accurate mass analysis etc.
Dr Christina Marley is a Reader of Agricultural Systems and leads the Animal Systems Research Group at IBERS, Aberystwyth University. Research interests include the use of pasture-based ruminant systems – aiming to optimise the use of forages to improve animal health and productivity, whilst protecting the underlying soil.
Dr Pachebat is a parasitologist and specialist in single molecule genomics and next generation sequencing (NGS). After degrees in Microbiology at Bristol and Medical Microbiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Justin did a PhD at the MRC National Institute for Medical Research on the characterisation and biosynthesis of a malaria vaccine target.
Following his PhD, Justin completed several post-docs at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology (2000-2007) and the University of Cambridge (2007-2009). At the MCR-LMB, Justin was responsible for running the HAPPY genome mapping project as part of the international Dictyostelium discoideum genome consortium and also ran several R&D projects.
Professor Thomas is currently Professor of Engineering and Management and the Head of Aberystwyth Business School. Having previously entered academia in 2002 following a career initially with the Royal Air Force and then later with BE Aerospace, Andrew has vast experience of roles in aerospace, manufacturing and production engineering.
To date, Professor Andrew Thomas has published over 200 research articles, journal papers and has delivered many keynote speeches covering his experiences, including supervising over twenty KTP projects. Andrew has developed a number of academic teaching programmes including: MSc Production Engineering Management, MSc International Supply Chain and Logistics Management, Master of Research in Management and, Doctor of Management.
Hilary Worgan graduated from Aberystwyth University in 2000 after studying Zoology and Microbiology. Her current responsibilities include managment of teaching laboratories, field course expenditure, line management of the teaching technical staff and managment of the laboratories for the gut microbiology research group.
Prof. Kingston-Smith has a broad background in plant biochemistry and enzymology plus experience of molecular biology. Particular areas of interest include photosynthesis (carbon metabolism/carbohydrates), antioxidant systems and plant stress responses culminating in cell death. Her current research is concerned with the impact of post-ingestion plant metabolism on rumen function.
Dr Jessica Adams is a Senior Research Scientist in Bioconversion and Biorefining, with a specialist interest in macroalgae (seaweeds), oats and aquatic plants. Her research interests are: carbohydrate and higher value compound extractions and quantifications, novel enzyme discovery and larger (pilot) scale processing. She has a number of highly cited papers in this area (h-index=11) and has been PI or Co-I on grants worth +£3.1M including those from BBSRC, EPSRC, Welsh Government and Innovate UK. She has a number of highly cited peer-reviewed papers on macroalgae research and currently has a Marie Skłodowska Curie Fellow, 4x PhD and 2x MSc students working within this area. She sits on boards for Algae-UK (BBSRC), Seafood Innovation Fund (Defra) and AberInnovation enterprise campus; and is a Non-executive Director of the company GreenSeas Resources
