Dr Nicola Gorringe
Degrees
- PhD in Plant Molecular Biology and Genetics, University of Cambridge
- BSc (Hons) in Biological Sciences, Cardiff University
Research Interests
I am currently researching meiotic recombination in plant species, this is the process that shuffles genetic material when an individual is producing sex cells. The goal is to understand the factors influencing this pathway so we are able to make crop species more genetic diverse and therefore better equipped to deal with their environment.
Biography
Nicola has recently successfully completed her PhD studies at the University of Cambridge. She worked on meiotic recombination in the model plant species Arabidopsis thaliana. Meiotic recombination is the process that shuffles genetic material during the development of gametes. The aim of the project was to try to further understand the mechanisms influencing this process through natural genetic variation. Results from these experiments can be put forward to help engineer crops to be more resilient to environmental stresses, or to increase crop yield. Currently, Nicola is a Research Associate in the Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge, where she continues to work on meiotic recombination in collaboration with Bayer Biosciences, USA. Since being in this position, Nicola has become a Postdoctoral Bye Fellow in Plant Sciences at 51¸£ÀûÉç, University of Cambridge.
Previously, Nicola completed her undergraduate degree at Cardiff University. During which she worked for a year at the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), Leipzig, Germany. Whilst in Germany, Nicola was working on the important crop species Brassica rapa (rapeseed oil, turnip, bok choi) and its defencive relationship with specialist pest herbivores.