Microlab@Bristol
Studying microbial life in extreme cryo-environments
MicroLab@Bristol employs a range of laboratory, field and modeling techniques to study how life excels in extreme cryo-environments and its role in globally relevant processes. We also work closer to home on several marine and freshwater topics.
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Some current research projects
Photophysiology: investigating the dynamics and variety of the photosynthetic mechanisms in snow and glacier algae.
AI for Algal Monitoring: developing new AI tools to automate high-throughput microalgal screening for the UK water industry – details to come soon!
CASP-ICE: a new MicroLab-led initiative to unite world leaders in snow/glacial algal research to align methods and undertake standardised global sampling – details to follow soon!
iDAPT: examining the role of the cryosphere in driving one of the biggest transitions in Earth’s history – the evolution of land plants.
Supraglacial carbon cycling: using field data to model Greenland Ice Sheet glacier algal blooms and their contribution to global carbon cycling.
Smart Catchment Management: using machine learning to model Cyanobacterial metabolite production blooms in freshwater reservoirs.
Microlab@Bristol News
Apr 24: A successful CASP-ICE workshop! Led by Chris, this workshop saw snow and glacier algal researchers from across the world meet in Bristol for three days of discussions ranging from point sampling techniques to large-scale satellite mapping. Watch this space for more outcomes!
Feb 24: New MicroLab paper alert, based on the fieldwork carried out by the team at Morteratsch Glacier in 2022, this paper looks at the potential controls on glacier algae biomass distribution. Paper here!
Feb 24: Signy trip underway! PhD student Emily Broadwell is down south for 2 months investigating snow and glacier algal blooms on Signy Island, Antarctica. More info here!
Jan 24: MicroLab@Bristol goes to the BPS! Chris Williamson, group lead of MicroLab@Bristol, gave a keynote talk about the AI project and a second CASP-ICE talk. Jaz Millar also gave a keynote talk as the 2022 recipient of the Manton Prize before the presentations for this years prize commenced.
Dec 23: Holly Liken accepts PhD position with MicroLab, on our AI for Algal Monitoring project. Holy is a UoB graduate and will lead the machine learning aspects of the project – Welcome Holly!
Nov 23: MicroLab featured in BBC Radio 4s ‘Poet Laureate in the Arctic’ series, accompanying our field team in Svalbard! Check our episode 4 here!
Nov 23: MicroLab begins new CASP-ICE project and launches the CASP-ICE network with > 20 leaders in snow and glacier algal research! Want to be involved? See here…
Oct 23: New MicroLab@Bristol pre-print available – want to know the secrets of the glacier algal genome and its insights into the evolution of life on ice and land??? see here! Nice work Alex Bowles and the iDAPT team!
Oct 23: MicroLab recruits Sonia Giulietti as new Research Technician on the AI for Algal Monitoring project – welcome Sonia, can’t wait to get started!
Sep 23: MicroLab begins ‘AI for Algal Monitoring’ Ofwat funded project with partners at Cardiff Uni, Welsh Water, Wessex Water, Anglian Water and United Utilities – lots of work to come but a great project ahead!
Aug 23: MicroLab attend the European Phycological Congress in Brest, France. Chris gave a keynote presentation, Alex a presentation on our new glacier algal genome paper and Emily a poster on her incubation studies – all well received!
Jul 23: MicroLab is Recruiting!! We have x2 positions on the cards on our new “AI for Algal Monitoring” project starting Sept 2023. See here for details.
Jul 23: First paper from Emily’s PhD accepted for publication!! This details adaptation versus plastic snow algal responses to dominant environmental stressors. Well done Emily! Full paper will be listed here soon.
Jul 23: MicroLab awarded CASS support from the British Antarctic Survey to send Emily down to Signy Island. in the 23/24 season for some deep south snow/glacier algal sampling!!
Jul 23: MicroLab is Recruiting!! We have x2 positions on the cards on our new “AI for Algal Monitoring” project starting Sept 2023. See here for details.
Jul 23: MicroLab hits the field!! Jaz, Emily and Maddy head to Svalbard for 1 month’s Arctic field work on the iDAPT project and others! Watch @MicroLabBristo1 on twitter for updates!
May 23: MicroLab@Bristol awarded an Ofwat Water Breakthrough Challenge3 research grant! Our project “AI for Algal Monitoring” will produce the next generation algal community monitoring tools for the UK water industry. Opportunities for x2 PhD studentships and x1 Research Technician to be announced soon!
Apr 23: Muhammad Irfan joins MicroLab@Bristol to begin his 4-month fellowship studying the microbiology and biogeochemistry of glacial flour from Gulkan Glacier, Pakistan.
Mar 23: Chris Williamson, group lead of MicroLab@Bristol, takes part in a Keck Institute of Space Studies workshop on Targetting Microhabitats for Life Detection at Caltech, USA – an amazing experience!
Feb 23: MicroLab@Bristol wins a Summer Undergraduate Internship grant to support an undergraduate student to join our summer 2023 field work campaign in Svalbard, Norway.
Feb 23: MicroLab@Bristol and Prof. Elisabeth Cooper win a Bristol Next Generation Visiting Researcher grant to develop research on Arctic snow-microbial-plant interactions in a changing climate.
Jan 23: Muhammad Irfan wins an International Research Support Initiative from the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan to undertake a PhD fellowship placement with MicroLab@Bristol. Well done Muhammad!
Jan 23: Professor Elisabeth Cooper from the The Arctic University of Norway starts a research sabbatical with MicroLab@Bristol. Welcome Elisabeth!
Dec 22: Rachel Pickford successfully defends her Masters thesis after studying the flow of nutrients and energy through snowpack communities. Papers to follow! Well done Rachel!!
Nov 22: New paper out from MicroLab@Bristol in Trends in Plant Sciences on the origin and early evolution of plants
Sep 22: Paulina Uribe starts her PhD with MicroLab@Bristol, studying the role of cyanobacteria in glacier fore-field colonisation with Patricia Sanchez-Baracaldo as lead supervisor.
Sep 22: Maddy Lewis starts her PhD with MicroLab@Bristol, studying the microhabitat of glacier dwelling microbes in collaboration with Liz Thomas at the British Antarctic Survey BAS and Patricia Sanchez-Baracaldo.
Aug 22: Jaz, Emily, Alex and Chris from MicroLab@Bristol run a great field campaign at Morteratsch glacier, Switzerland, for iDAPT field sampling, taking some first measurements with our photosynthetron.
Jul 22: Chris Williamson, group lead of MicroLab@Bristol, promoted to Senior Lecturer. Many thanks to all the mentors and group members that have helped me through my career so far!
May 22: New paper out by the wonderful Laura Perini with MicroLab contributions studying the interactions of fungi and algae on the Greenland Ice Sheet.
Mar 22: First R&D trip over to Photon Systems Instruments in the Czech Republic to design our iDAPT project “photosynthetron” for novel field measurements of microbial communities in glacial environments
Feb 22: Two new papers out with MicroLab@Bristol contributions – one by Alex Holland on nitrogen speciation during snowpack melt in Greenland, the other by Tris Irvine-Fynn on Greenland bare ice albedo
Dec 21: Jaz Millar accepts 3-year PDRA position with MicroLab@Bristol on the Leverhulme Trust funded iDAPT project.
New Microlab@Bristol paper in Frontiers in Plant Science, shows how the cellular nutrient content of glacier algae deviates from Redfield stoichiometry and is likely an adaptation to surface ice conditions
Another contribution from Microlab@Bristol to a great Nature Comms paper on the storage and export of microbes across the Western Greenland Ice Sheet.
MicroLab@Bristol is recruiting for both a 2.5 month research assistant role on our JGI funded machine learning project, AND a Cabot Masters by Research student on the same topic (same person could bag both!)
Alex Bowles accepts 3-year postdoc position with MicroLab@Bristol on the Leverhulme Funded iDAPT project.
MicroLab@Bristol awarded 4 year Leverhulme Trust research grant for project iDAPT.
Carmen Espinosa Angona accepts 1-year modeling PDRA project in MicroLab@Bristol
Miranda Nicholes successfully defends her PhD thesis to become Dr Nicholes!!!
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MicroLab@Bristol 