University of Reading cookie policy

We use cookies on reading.ac.uk to improve your experience, monitor site performance and tailor content to you

Read our cookie policy to find out how to manage your cookie settings

Head of School: Professor Phil Dash

Academic staff

Name Position Research interests
     
Dr Phil Baker Lecturer
Vertebrate conservation
Dr Glyn Barrett

Lecturer

Environmental microbiology, microbial ecology, forest and woodland disease ecology, plant-microbe interactions, bioprospecting for improved pest management, novel peptide therapeutics
Dr Andrew Bladon

Lecturer in Ecology

 

Climate and habitat change on species’ distribution and abundance
Dr Vicky Boult Lecturer in Conservation Biology An interdisciplinary scientist with expertise in both Ecology and Meteorology. Broadly interested in how we can combine an understanding of ecological processes, meteorological forecasts and humanitarian action to improve preparedness in biodiversity conservation.
Professor Amanda Callaghan

Professor of Zoology 

Curator of the Cole Museum of Zoology

Applied ecology, aquatic ecotoxicology, entomology, mosquito biology, museum related research and pedagogic research
Dr Alastair Culham

Associate Professor of Botany

Curator of the University Herbarium

Head of Division for Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Evolutionary responses to climate change, plant Phylogeny, plant and fungal taxonomy, DNA barcoding and molecular markers
Dr Chris Foster

Lecturer

Admissions Tutor for BSc Ecology and Wildlife Conservation

Landscape ecology, insect conservation and ornithology
Dr H Soon Gweon  Lecturer  Bioinformatics, microbial ecology, environmental omics 
Dr Manuela Gonzalez-Suarez

Associate Professor in Ecological Modelling

Programme Director for BSc Ecology and Wildlife Conservation

Loss of biodiversity, vertebrate conservation, road ecology, macroecology
Professor Julie Hawkins

Professor of Plant Systematics and Evolution

Plant taxonomy and evolution, ethnobotany and evolutionary ethnobotany, wildlife trade and conservation
Dr Graham Holloway

Associate Professor

Director of MSc by Research Entomology

Insect conservation, biodiversity, and taxonomy. Evolution of insect colour patterns
Dr Louise Johnson

Associate Professor

Research Division Leader, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Evolution, genetics, intragenomic conflict, genomics, levels of selection, genetic systems, cancer evolution
Dr Renee Lee

Associate Professor

Director of Placements and Employability

Admissions Tutor and Programme Director, Biological Sciences

School Director of Recruitment and Admissions

Biomineralisation in coccolithophores, microbially induced calcite precipitation, molecular fossils, trace metal homeostasis in biology, microbial diversity in caves

Dr Andrew Meade Lecturer in Computational Biology Research  Phylogenetic inference, comparative methods, computational biology and high performance computing
Dr Jonathan Mitchley

Associate Professor of Field Botany

Director of MSc Ecological Survey Skills with Placement

Grassland biodiversity, ecology and ecological habitat restoration, plant blindness, inspiring young people with plants and botany, 3D video and virtual reality for botanical teaching and learning
Dr Campbell Murn Lecturer in Conservation Science Biology and conservation of birds of prey, visual fields and sensory ecology of birds of prey, disease ecology of obligate scavengers, impact of scavenger declines on disease ecology
Professor Tom Oliver

Associate Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research (Environment)

Professor of Applied Ecology

Biodiversity: interactions between land use and climate change, resilience of ecosystem functions, environmental risk and governance
Professor Mark Pagel Professor of Evolutionary Biology Evolution, computational biology, language evolution, phylogeny, Markov chain Monte Carlo
Dr Brian Pickles

Associate Professor of Ecology

Programme Director for Zoology

Biodiversity, ecology of forests and woodlands, palaeoecology, plant-fungal symbioses, spatial ecology
Dr Alejandra Perotti Associate Professor Ectoparasitic lice and mites of primates as proxies of hosts' evolution. Ancient DNA lice and mites and their extinct hosts. Mites of medical, veterinaryor economic importance, whole organism biology and evolution. Forensic acarology interactions between mites with other arthropods and with bacteria (e.g. Wolbachia). Sex ratio distorters (e.g. Rickettsia, Wolbachia) and their asexual arthropod hosts
 Dr Manabu Sakamoto  Admissions Tutor for BSc Zoology

Lecturer in Zoology

Understanding how biodiversity is shaped by function, ecology, and environment over time using phylogenetic comparative methods, morphometrics, and biomechanics
Dr Becks Spake Lecturer Applied ecology, biodiversity conservation, evidence synthesis, forest ecology,  landscape ecology, quantitative methods
Dr Chris Venditti Associate Professor in Evolutionary Biology Phylogenetic inference and comparative methods, speciation, adaptation and rates of evolution
Independent career fellows
Name Position  Research interests
Dr Sofia Gripenberg Royal Society Research Fellow
Species interactions, population and community dynamics, evolutionary ecology, tropical ecology

Postdoctorate research fellows, associates and assistants
Name Position  Research interests
Dr Catia Antunes Research Associate Ecology and evolutionary biology
Dr Joanna Baker Research Associate
Macroevolution and natural selection; comparative phylogenetic methods
Dr Jeff Da Costa  Research Associate (part time) Applied meteorology, climate change adaptation
Dr Ciara O'Donovan Research Associate  Macroevolution, macroecology, biogeography and phylogenetic comparative methods
Dr Andre Dornelles  Research Associate Food system dynamics and impacts on ecosystems
Dr Luke Christopher Evans Research Associate Quantitative ecology, Ecological modelling, Bayesian statistical approaches, Programming [R, Julia, stan, python], Agent-based modelling
Dr Matthew Greenwell Research Associate Butterfly ecology, landscape genetics, participatory systems mapping
Dr Thomas Püschel Research Associate Primate evolution, Palaeoanthropology, Vertebrate palaeontology, Mammalian evolution, Morphometrics, Biomechanics, Phylogenetic comparative methods, Phylogenetics
Dr Mojgan Rabiey Research Associate  Ecology and evolutionary biology
Dr Suzy White Research Associate Ecology and evolutionary biology

Emeritus and visiting professors
Name Position  Research interests
Professor John Barnett (Emeritus)

Professor Nick Battey (Emeritus)
 
Professor Emeritus Philip John
Production of natural indigo; phytochemical analysis of food and beverages

Professor Sir Ghillean Prance 

Visiting Professor  
Professor Helmut van Emden (Emeritus Professor of Horticulture) 
Insect-plant relationships from plant communities to individual plant phenotypes. GM crops and resistance to crop pests. Artificial diet for aphids. 

Honorary research fellows and visiting lecturers
Name Position  Research interests
Dr Richard Carter Visiting Lecturer
Dr Bob Froud-Williams Honorary Fellow  
Nigel Larkin  Visiting Research Fellow  Palaeontology 
Dr Royce Longton Visiting Research Fellow
Dr Glynn Percival Visiting Research Fellow Arboriculture, enterprise 

Professor Sir Ghillean Prance 

Visiting Professor  
Dr Rebecca Thomas Visiting Research Fellow  
Dr Susumu Yamada Visiting Research Fellow Restoration ecology

Visit our School of Biological Sciences staff page for senior management team, administrative staff and technical support staff contact details.

 
 
Athena SWAN Silver Award