Soil and Environmental Microbiology Research Group
The power of the small!
About Us
Dr Fiona Brennan
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Fiona is the director of the Soil and Environmental Microbiology research group. She is currently a research officer within Teagasc (The Irish Agriculture and Food Development Authority) and leads the Soil Microbiome sub-programme. She holds an adjunct lecturer position in the National University of Ireland, Galway (NUI Galway) and is a principal investigator in the Plant and Agricultural Biosciences Centre (PABC). She completed a BSc in Environmental Biology (University College Dublin) and a PhD in Microbiology (NUI Galway) prior to holding postdoctoral research positions within Teagasc and INRA (The French National Institute for Agricultural Research). Prior to her current appointment she was a lecturer in Microbiology in NUI Galway and a research scientist in the James Hutton Institute, Scotland.
email: fiona.brennan@teagasc.ie
Dr Aoife Duff
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Aoife is currently the lab manager of the Soil and Environmental Microbiology research group. She holds the position of Soil Biotechnologist within Teagasc. Previous to this post she worked as a postdoctoral researcher in the Microbial Ecology group of Dr. Cindy Smith in the University of Glasgow, specialising in a range of molecular techniques. She completed a BSc in Microbiology (NUI Galway) and a PhD in Environmental Microbiology (NUI Galway). Her main interests lie in studying the micro-organisms that mediate the nitrogen cycle. Her latest work looked at targeting ammonia oxidisers who mediate the rate limiting step of nitrification, and on linking the identity of active ammonia oxidisers to ecosystem function.
email: Aoife.Duff@teagasc.ie
Dr Coline Deveautour
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​Coline is a postdoctoral researcher at NUI Galway and Teagasc. She is working in the MINE (Manipulation and Integration of Nitrogen emissions) project, which aims to divert gaseous N losses from N2O to N2 and integrate N2O emissions on a spatial and temporal scale. Coline completed her BSc in Biology at the University of Costa Rica, her MSc in Ecology and Biodiversity at the University of Montpellier, and PhD in community ecology at Western Sydney University. Her postdoctoral research focuses on the occurrence, diversity and activity of microbial denitrifiers in Irish soils, and on determining the impact of management, environmental and edaphic factors on microbial production of N2O.
e-mail: coline.deveautour@teagasc.ie
Dr Natalie Oram
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Natalie is a research scientist funded via a Research Leaders 2025 (Marie SkÅ‚odowska-Curie grant agreement No 754380) fellowship. She is working in collaboration with Dr. Fiona Brennan, Teagasc, Ireland, Prof. Richard Bardgett, University of Manchester, UK, and Prof. Michael Bahn, University of Innsbruck, Austria on a project entitled ' Remembering the drought: how soil memories affect grassland resilience' which focused on the impact of drought on grassland systems. The frequency and severity of droughts is increasing in our changing climate. Drought can have a lasting effect, by disrupting the interactions between plants and the soil microbial community. In this project she aims to determine how pervasive these disruptions are: how a drought legacy alters the soil microbial community’s structure and function, plant-microbe interactions, and plant resilience to a subsequent drought. Prior to her current fellowship, Natalie completed a BSc. in Agriculture Science (University of Guelph, Canada), a MSc. in Agroecology and a PhD. in Plant Ecology (Wageningen University, the Netherlands)
Dr Israel Ikoyi
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Israel is a postdoctoral researcher in Teagasc. He is working in the MASTER (Microbiome Applications for Sustainable food systems through Technologies and EnteRprise) project, which aims to take a global approach to the development of concrete microbiome products, foods/feeds, services, or processes with high commercial potential. Israel will focus on the potential use of microbial inoculants as biofertilisers in grassland soils. Prior to this position, Israel was a Researcher in the Environmental Microbiology Research Group (University of Limerick) where he worked on the impact of soil fertility (and particularly P & S) on soil microbial communities. Israel completed a BSc. in Agricultural Science (Ahmadu Bello University, Nigeria), a MSc. in Nematology (Ghent University, Belgium and Wageningen University, the Netherlands) and a PhD. in Soil Microbiology (University of Limerick, Ireland).
email: israel.ikoyi@teagasc.ie
Dr Thuy Do
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Thuy is a postdoctoral researcher in Maynooth University and Teagasc. She is working in the INART project which is focused on the intervention of antimicrobial resistance transfer into the food chain. Thuy completed her MSc in genetics (Lomonosov Moscow state University) and PhD in microbiology and molecular biology (University Autonoma of Madrid). Her interests include investigating the molecular basis and dissemination of antibiotic resistance among bacteria in the environment as well as clinical settings.
Matthias Waibel
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Matthias is a PhD student at NUI Galway and the James Hutton Institute in Scotland. Matthias completed a “Diplom-Wirtschatsingenieur” degree in Biochemical Engineering and Business Management at the Technical University of Braunschweig, Germany, and an MSc in Environmental Microbiology at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland. His interest is on Soil Organic Matter (SOM) dynamics with particular focus on the “priming effect”, mineralized C and N fluxes, and nutrient releases in temperate grasslands. The functional and structural soil biology, especially of proteins in soil involved in native SOM/humus decomposition and mineralization, is investigated in this context.
email: m.waibel1@nuigalway.ie
Ciara Tyrrell
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Ciara is a PhD student based in Maynooth University and Teagasc (Ashtown and Johnstown Castle). Her PhD project aims to evalutate the comparative risk of different manure types on the microbiome and resistome of grassland. Before beginning her PhD, Ciara completed her undergraduate degree in Maynooth University where as part of her final year project investigated antibiotic resistance in the pig gut microbiome. Her research interests include the transmission of antimicrobial resistance from farm to fork.
email: ciara.tyrrell.2014@mumail.ie
Sorcha Kelly
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Sorcha is a PhD student working in collaboration with Teagasc (Johnstown Castle), NUI Galway, and the James Hutton Institute. Her project is focused on linking microbially mediated soil organic matter turnover to nitrogen availability in agricultural soils. Before her PhD she completed her undergraduate degree in Environmental Science at Trinity College Dublin. Her final year project investigated carbon sequestration under the bioenergy crop Miscanthus x gigantus. Sorcha also completed her masters degree in Global Change Ecosystem Science and Policy, a joint programme between University College Dublin and the Justus Liebig University of Giessen. Her research project focused on evaluating nitrogen balances as an agri-environmental indicator of nitrogen use efficiency in Irish agriculture. Her interests are in nutrient cycling, nutrient use efficiency, and agricultural sustainability.
email: Sorcha.Kelly@teagasc.ie
Emily Masters-Clark
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Emily is a PhD student working in collaboration with Teagasc, Rothamsted Research and Cranfield University. Her project investigates the interactions between mycorrhizal fungi and beneficial rhizosphere bacteria, looking at the potential to exploit this relationship in favour of a host plant. Emily hopes to contribute to the sustainable intensification of agriculture by elucidating the tri-trophic interactions between exemplar grassland and arable host-plants, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, the soil microbiome, soil fertility and structure. Her PhD is one of seven in Soil Technology Innovation being funded by Rothamsted Research, Teagasc and Cranfield University as part of a new Agricultural Research and Innovation Accelerator. She completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Leeds in Biology with an industrial placement in Environmental and Marine biology.
Aisling Moffat
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Aisling is a PhD student working with Teagasc Oakpark, Scotland’s Rural College and the University of Edinburgh. Her project is focusing on potential biocontrol options for leatherjackets by looking at the soil microbiome. She hopes that her work will contribute to a more sustainable agricultural production system in Ireland and further afield, by offering an alternative to harmful pesticide treatments. She became interested in entomology and microbiology during her time in University College Dublin, where she completed her 4 years bachelors of Agricultural Science degree studying Agri-Environmental Science. During her final year, Aisling submitted a thesis on the winter morphology in the Spotted Wing Drosophila (Drosophila suzukii).
email: aisling.moffat@teagasc.ie
Kerry Ryan
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Kerry is an MSc student working in collaboration with Teagasc and the National University of Ireland, Galway. Her project is focused on understanding the effect of legume-based mixtures on the soil microbiome for improving resource use efficiency and yield stability. She hopes her work will contribute to a better understanding of the soil microbiome and the benefits it provides for agriculture. Before starting her MSc, she completed her undergraduate degree in Plant Science at Trinity College Dublin. Her final year project investigated the diversity of epiphytic bromeliads across altitude and forest type in Cusuco National Park, Honduras. She has volunteered twice as a research assistant with Operation Wallacea, conducting ecological, zoological and botanical surveys in Calakmul Biosphere Reserve, Mexico; Turtle Bay, Akumal, Mexico; and Cusuco National Park Honduras. Her interests are in sustainable agricultural practices, soil ecology, and ecosystem dynamics.
Paula Rojas Pinzon
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Paula is a research assistant at NUI Galway and Teagasc. She is part of the MINE (Manipulation and Integration of Nitrogen Emissions) project, which aims to divert excess N away from environmentally damaging N forms (N2O, NH3, NO3-) to environmentally accepted N2 on a spatial and temporal scale. Paula completed her MSc in Biological Sciences and her BSc in Microbiology at Universidad de los Andes (Bogotá, Colombia). Before joining the Teagasc group, Paula worked as a research assistant in the Microbiological Research Centre at Universidad de los Andes. Her interests include soil microbial ecology, nutrient biogeochemical cycles and plant-microbial interactions.
email: Paula.rojaspinzon@teagasc.ie
Katie Martin
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Katie is a PhD student at UCD and Teagasc working on the FaSTEN project (Farm Sustainability Tools for Efficient Nutrient management). Her project focuses on managing plant diversity and interactions between plants, soil and soil organisms for improved nutrient efficiency in Irish agriculture. This will investigate the use of mixed species swards and biostimulants and their impacts on plant roots, the soil microbiome and nutrient cycling. She completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Manchester in Biology with a placement year at Paul Sabatier University studying hormonal signalling between plants and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi.
email: katie.martin@ucdconnect.ie
Niranjana Rose Edwin
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Rose is a Ph.D. student working on a collaborative project between Teagasc Moorepark, Teagasc Johnstown Castle and NUI Galway that is utilizing metagenomic and novel statistical approaches to examine the antimicrobial resistance (AMR) profile of Irish soil. Rose completed a Master’s in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology from Tezpur University, India and a subsequent degree in Food Microbiology from University College Cork, Ireland. She is interested in studying AMR in the soil microbiome with a broader goal of understanding how AMR gets transferred to plant and animal ecosystems entering the food chain. NiranjanaRose.Edwin@teagasc.ie
Yahaya Jebril Amanor
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Jebril is a PhD candidate working jointly with the Waterford Institute of Technology and Teagasc, Johnstown Castle on the FASTEN (Farm Sustainability Tools for Efficient Nutrient management) project. His research is measuring the impact of soil and grassland management, including potassium and sulphur inputs, on plant-microbe interactions that mediate soil organic matter mineralization and N supply. Jebril holds a BSc in Agriculture (University of Ghana) and has previously worked as a Teaching and Research Assistant with the Department of Soil Science, University of Ghana. Prior to joining the group, Jebril completed an MSc in Soil Science with Massey University (New Zealand), where he investigated the influence of pasture renewal with full inversion tillage on organic matter storage and soil nutrient management of long-term pastures. His research interests include microbial ecology, soil organic matter and soil nutrient management.