Briony Jones
brijon@ceh.ac.uk
Office Telephone Number
01491692261
Room Details
NF.16, CEH Wallingford,
Maclean Building.
Benson Ln,
Crowmarsh Gifford,
Wallingford,
OX10 8BB
Qualifications
MSc Computational Biology and Bioinformatics (University of York).
BSc Biomedical Sciences (Brunel University).
PhD Title (or subject area)
Whole genome metagenomics to determine land use effects on soil ecosystem services.
Supervisors
Dr. Robert Griffiths
Professor D.L. Jones
Describe your research
My project is based at CEH Wallingford and Bangor University's School of Environment, Natural Resources and Geography and is funded by a NERC ENVISION studentship. It will employ computational based approaches to analyse 100 soil metagenomes from different land use gradients across the UK to determine whether land use changes affect the soils ability to deliver ecosystem services (e.g. nutrient recycling, carbon storage, pesticide degradation and water purification).
The activities of microorganisms within the soil are known to contribute to ecosystem services, however there is a lack of knowledge as to how microbial biodiversity contributes to the provision of services. Understanding this subject is becoming increasingly important as it could influence policy maker's decisions in order to ensure sustainable food production for growing populations.
Research Interests
- Systems Biology
- Molecular Ecology
- Land-use Change
Biography
I completed a BSc in Biomedical Sciences at Brunel University before going on to undertake a Master's degree in Computational Biology and Bioinformatics from the University of York. I have since been working at CEH Wallingford for a year as a Bioinformatician. Whilst undertaking my masters I conducted a four-month placement at Imperial College where I worked on a cross platform microarray meta-analysis pipeline, which aimed to combine experimental data in order overcome the issues of under sampling associated with individual studies. This experience alongside my interest in my MSc's systems biology module lead me to develop an interest in big data analysis and to pursue a PhD relating to bioinformatics and functional networks.