Research activities in Biological Sciences are carried out in seven principal thematic groups. Together these address the fundamental challenges of human health and environmental change.
We combine large scale molecular approaches with bioinformatics and computational biology. Research applies systems level approaches to understand biological processes and their impacts in biomedical and environmental biology.
We focus on the basic processes in reproductive and developmental biology as well as the mechanisms underpinning the developmental origins of health and disease. There is particular focus on epigenetic processes.
We address current and future issues of global significance, investigating adaptation to changing environments, the sustainable use of natural resources, food and water security, human health, and biodiversity conservation.
We focus on the impact on environmental, agri-food and clinical settings of physiology, antimicrobial resistance, development, evolution, genetics and molecular ecology of biofilms, microbiome communities and infectious prions.
We investigate the fundamental basic biological processes that underpin human health and disease including the control of gene expression and protein translation, mechanisms of signal transduction and membrane trafficking, and the control of cell division.
Research in Neuroscience aims to understand how the brain works in health and disease, from the molecular to the systems levels. This research is a cornerstone of the strategic commitment to neurosciences and is part of University-wide interdisciplinary initiatives.
The Plants and Food Security group brings together staff from a range of disciplines to address this global issue, with their research ranging from answering important questions in plant biology at the molecular, cellular and whole plant level, to understanding the biology underpinning broader issues of food security.
Members of staff may work across one or more research themes. They may also belong to more specialist research interest groups within Biological Sciences, across the University or as part of multi-disciplinary University Strategic Research Groups (USRGs).