M.Sc. Molecular Plant and Microbial Biology, Imperial College London

P.hD. Engineering, King's College London

Ellen Piercy is an interdisciplinary researcher at the intersection of engineering and biology with an interest in applying microbiology to pioneer greener practices using bioremediation.

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During her Master’s in Molecular Plant and Microbial Biology at Imperial College London she conducted two research projects. The first project investigated the effect of light on the H3K27me3 epigenetic marker that helps to regulate the ability of plants to regenerate stem cells from differentiated cells. This project utilised microscopy, growth assays and quantitative PCR to analyse and compare gene expression and tissue growth in H3K27me3 mutants exposed to different light conditions. Within the second project she isolated and began characterisation of a newly discovered chlorophyll f synthase, super rogue-D1. During this project she cloned the super rogue-D1 gene and generated algae transformants (Chlamydomonas reinhardtii). She then tested protein expression using SDS-page and compared photosynthetic activity of transformants using pulse-amplitude-modulation fluorometry.

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Ellen’s PhD in Engineering at King's College London focused on harnessing the power of microbiology for sustainable water treatment using anaerobic digestion. Anaerobic digestion is an established wastewater treatment that recovers carbon in the form of biogas, which can be used as a green energy source. She collaborated with the food and drink industry (Marlow Ingredients, Mode Nissin) to chemically characterise real-world mycoprotein fermentation wastewater and assessed the resource recovery potential using anaerobic digestion. Her work combined detailed chemical analysis, engineering, machine learning and microbiology to identify the most influential factors affecting wastewater treatment with the goal of optimising resource recovery and biogas production.

In her current role as a Post Doc within the Marine Microbiomes group, and in collaboration with the Engineering Department, she aims to characterise microbial calcium carbonate precipitation, and assess the potential for soil erosion prevention and bioremediation applications.