PhD Student

Modification and Developmental Control of Leaf Surface Wettability in Floating Aquatic Plants

My primary interest is plant developmental biology, and how plants have uniquely adapted to their environment. It is this interest in how stuff works that has brought me to the Mechanical Ecology Lab. My PhD project focuses on how floating aquatic plant leaves interact with water. The lower, water-facing surface is hydrophilic, allowing the plant to sit flat on top of the water, while the upper, air-facing surface is hydrophobic. The contrasting leaf wettability in the upper and lower surfaces allow us to investigate the chemical, topographical and genetic contributions to this characteristic. Studying how plants interact with water is key to understanding all sorts of surface interactions.

I completed my undergraduate BSc at Durham University, and then returned to Durham for my MSc by research. During my Masters I worked on characterising a new gene in the pathway controlling secondary growth in the Arabidopsis vascular tissue. Alongside this, I also worked as a lab technician on a project looking at vascular development in barley as a model monocot system. I have now hopped from North East to South West and joined the Mechanical Ecology Lab at Exeter University for my PhD studies. In my free time I love to read books, go for hikes and cook and eat good food.