I encourage Post-Doctoral Researchers to contact me to discuss funding options (e.g. Leverhulme, The Royal Society, Marie Curie, NERC).
Funded PhD opportunities are posted annually on the CENTA website and Forest Edge webpages.
Mentorship:
Our Masters students, PhD students and Post-Doctoral researchers have been highly successful in further academic positions, winning prestigious awards and fellowships, and publishing their work in leading journals. I actively support improving equity, diversity and representation in the Earth sciences. I have mentored a number of China Scholarship Council (CSC) scholars who split their PhD program between their home institutions in China and spend up to two years working closely with me.
I have a high success rate of PhD students going onto post-doctoral positions and permanent academic posts. Dr Heiko Moossen is now head of the world renowned Max-Plank BGC-IsoLab in Jena, Germany. Dr Bella Duncan has taken up a prestigious Royal Society Rutherford Foundation PDF at the University of Victoria, New Zealand. All of the CSC Scholarship students that I have supervised to completion have gained permanent academic positions: Dr Huiling Sun, Dr Canfa Wang and Dr Jingjing Liu hold Assist. Prof. positions at Yunnan Normal Uni., CUG Wuhan and Hebei GEO Uni. respectively. Dr Bridget Warren is now a NERC Research Associate at the Open University. Of my previous RAs, Prof. Jaime Toney is a Professor and research group leader at the University of Glasgow, Dr Chris Gallacher is now a Research Associate at the University of Strathclyde and Dr Supriyo Das is a Faculty member at Presidency University, Kolkata. I also have demonstrable success in training and developing talented undergraduates as researchers through final year laboratory projects and bursaries. Of my UG and M-level researchers >10 have gone onto PhDs incl. Dr Kate Ashley, Alice Hardman and Matt Allison (University of Birmingham), Carrie Walker (University of Leicester), Emily Hollingsworth (Southampton), or careers in academia: Dr Gordon Inglis (NOC, UK), Dr Casey Bryce (Bristol, UK) and Dr Robert Jamieson (Leeds, UK).
Doctoral Supervision and other Team Members
PhD Students – Birmingham
Theme 1 – Developing new biomarker tools:
2021-2025: Patthapong Chaiseanwang: PhD focused on development and application of 3-OH-FA based proxies in SE Asia (Funded by Scholarship from the Thai Ministry of Education). I am first supervisor; external supervisors: Dr Akkaneewut Jirapinyakul (Chulalongkorn University, Thailand); Dr Kweku Yamoah (University of York); Dr Dan Read (CEH, Wallingford).
2022-2026: Changhai Hou: PhD focused on Development and Application of 3-OH-FA based proxies European lake sediments (funded by the CSC and a UoB College of LES Fee Waiver Scholarship). I am first supervisor; external supervisors: Dr Kweku Yamoah (University of York).
2021-2025. Gemma Baker: ‘Life on the edge: New tools to track animal-forest trophic interaction across intact to degraded ecosystems’. (Leverhulme Forest Edge funded). Closely supervised with first supervisor: Dr Sarah Greene; External supervisors: Dr Lydia Greene (Duke University, USA).
2019-2024. Alice Hardman: PhD focused on development and application of 3-OH-FA based proxies for terrestrial paleoclimate (NERC funded). I am second supervisor; external supervisors: Dr Dan Read (CEH, Wallingford); Dr Kweku Yamoah (University of York).
2019-2023. Dr Amy Thorpe: ‘Exploring Past Environments with Microbial Biomarkers:
A Molecular Approach Using Sedimentary DNA and 3-Hydroxy Fatty Acids’. I was second supervisor; first supervisor: Dr Dan Read (CEH, Wallingford). External supervisors: Dr Kweku Yamoah (University of York).
2018-2023. Dr Bridget Warren: ‘Development and application of novel palaeoclimate proxies based leaf wax lipids’. (Leverhulme Forest Edge funded). I was first supervisor ; supervised with Dr Sarah Greene, Prof. Jason Hilton and Dr Tom Dunkley Jones, Dr Yvette Eley.
2017-2021. Dr Yang Yi: ‘Novel marine proxies based on bacterial 3-hydroxy fatty acids’. (1 year CSC visitor from CUG Wuhan, supervised with Prof Xie at CUG), Dr Kweku Yamoah and Dr Felix Elling. Now a Professor at the China University of Geosciences, Wuhan.
2016-2019. Marcelo Mota: Title: ‘Palaeoclimate reconstruction of the last greenhouse- icehouse transition based on geochemical and micropalaentological records from central Mississippi, us Gulf Coastal plain.’ Co-supervised with first supervisor: Dr Tom Dunkley Jones. Now a Research Fellow at Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos | UNISINOS, Brazil.
2012-2016. Dr Canfa Wang: Title: ‘Novel environmental proxies based on bacterial 3-hydroxy fatty acids and their applications in stalagmites’. (2 year CSC visitor from CUG Wuhan, supervised with Prof Xie at CUG). Now a Professor at the China University of Geosciences, Wuhan.
Theme 2 – Cenozoic and Holocene climate evolution:
2023-2027. Dimitra Skoulitari (NERC). Title TBC. Climate and ancient societies ( 1st supervisor is Dr Vasile Ersek at Northumbria, co-supervised with Prof George Iliopoulos at Patras, Greece).
2022-2026. Chloe Snowling (NERC). Title TBC – working on the Palaeoclimate of SE Asia from Stalagmite Record (1st supervisor is Dr Vasile Ersek at Northumbria).
2020-2024. Matt Allison: ‘Climate change and mantle dynamics in the North Atlantic’ (NERC funded). Closely supervised with Dr Steve Jones.
2016-2020. Dr Jonathan Hall: ‘The Palaeoenvironmental, palaeogeographic and palaeoclimatic evolution of the Neogene NE Atlantic‘ (NERC funded). Closely supervised with Dr Steve Jones and Dr Sarah Greene.
2015-2019. Dr Kate Ashley, nee Newton : ‘Use of algal biomarkers from marine sediments for reconstructing Antarctic environmental change in the Holocene’. (NERC funded; CASE partner: Elementar). I was first supervisor; co-supervised with Dr Sarah Greene.
2015-2019. Dr Jingjing Liu ‘Eastern Equatorial Pacific Cold Tongue Evolution and its Response to Global Climate since the Late Miocene’. (1 year CSC visitor from Tongji, Shanghai). Now an Assistant Professor position at Hebei GEO University.
2014-2017. Dr Frederike Wittkopp: ‘Organic geochemical investigation of sediments in the Japan Sea: tracking paleoceanographic and paleoclimatic changes since the mid-Miocene.’ Supervised with Dr Tom Dunkley Jones.
2012-2017. Dr Bella Duncan ‘Cenozoic Antarctic climate evolution based on molecular and isotopic biomarker reconstructions from geological archives in the Ross Sea region’ (1 year visitor, University of Victoria, New Zealand, supervised with Dr Rob Mckay). Now a Rutherford Foundation Research Fellow.
PhD Students – Glasgow
2007-2011. Dr Huiling Sun: ‘Paleaoenvironment reconstructions of Mid-late Holocene changes in a high-resolution sediment core from Tianchi Lake on southwestern loess plateau.’ (2 year CSC visitor from Lanzhou). Now an Assistant Professor position at Yunnan Normal University.
2012-2017. Dr Jill McColl: ‘Climate variability of the past 1000 years in the NW Pacific: high resolution, multi-biomarker records from Lake Toyoni, Japan.’ Supervised with Prof. Jaime Toney.
2009- 2011. Paula Sankelo: Returned to Finland for family reasons. Converted to an MSc.
2008-2012. Dr Heiko Moossen: ‘Palaeoclimate reconstructions from Arctic and Nordic Shelf seas: development and application of multiple proxies.’ Now Head of the BGC stable isotope laboratory (BGC-IsoLab), Jena.
Other Research Team Members
2023- Matt Allison, Technician.
2022-2023. Dr Yuan Ling, Visiting Assistant Professor – funded by the CSC.
2022-2023. Dr Jonathan Hall, Research Associate funded by Leverhulme.
2018-2021. Dr Afrifa ‘Kweku’ Yamoah, Research Associate funded by Leverhulme.
2016-2019. Dr Matt O’Callahan: Geochemistry experimental officer (GEMS facility).
2016-2020. Dr Yvette Eley: Research Associate funded by NERC.
2012-2015. Dr Heiko Moossen: Research Associate funded by NERC and then as a College Scholar. Now head of the Max-Plank BGC stable isotope laboratory (BGC-IsoLab), Jena, Germany.
2011-2014. Dr Chris Gallacher: Research Assistant funded by NERC, proceeded to PhD. Now a Research Associate at the University of Strathclyde.
2008-2012. Supriyo Das: Research Associate funded by the British Council and then the Carnegie Trust. Now a Faculty member at Presidency University, Kolkata, Department of Geology.
James Bendle 