Henny Omosigho
Areas of interest
- Soil ecology
- Food security
- Ecosystem functioning
Research centres and groups
Environmental Science Research DivisionResearch projects
How do earthworms and soil microbial community diversity interact to determine the fate of organic matter amendments to soil
This project aims to focus on the interactions and feedbacks between two key soil organism groups (microorganisms and earthworms) that are responsible for driving and regulating soil biochemical cycles vital to the functioning of the earth system.
The objective of this project is to test the importance of the symbiotic relationship between the two key soil organism groups by firstly interrupting the relationship using antibiotics to create an earthworm free of associated soil microbes, observe any behavioural; change due to this process and finally understanding that earthworm health and function with respect to the promotion of the stabilisation and the decomposition of organic matter amendments to soil depends on soil microbial diversity.
This project is funded by NERC SCENARIO Doctoral Training Partnership.
Supervisors:
- Professor Liz Shaw (University of Reading)
- Dr Tom Sizmur (University of Reading)
- Dr David Spurgeon (Centre for Ecology & Hydrology)
- Dr Claus Svendsen (Centre for Ecology & Hydrology)
Contact:
Background
I am a soil scientist based at the University of Reading. I hold a BSc (First Class Hons) in Forensic Science from Teesside University, Middlesbrough, a BSc (Hons) in Medical Microbiology from Newcastle University and an MSc in Forensic Science from Teesside university.
For my MSc dissertation I studied '16s/18s/nif gene-based DGGE analysis of the changes that occur in soil microbial communities when Sus scrofa domesticus is introduced' under the guidance of Dr Komang Ralebitso-Senior. I had a year of work experience as a Microbiological Technician, prior to commencing my PhD.
I was an organiser for the Joint-DTP summer conference in 2017 and have been involved in student representation as the Student Rep for Health and Safety Committee, and Cohort 3 Rep for the Doctoral Training Partnership since 2016.