Research Departments at IACR

Institute Director: Ben Miflin
Institute Assistant Director: Stephen James

Quick links to cross-departmental research resources: Molecular biology group

Statistics

Head: Dr Robin Thompson

Statistics and Mathematics centre for the Institute. Develops and maintains the Genstat statistical computing system, used worldwide by research organisations, universities and industry. Undertakes both statistical consulting and basic statistical research. Major input to biometric work in developing countries.

BioInformatics

Head: Professor Paul Verrier

Computing for the Institute and R&D for agricultural decision support, forecasting, expert systems, management of complex structured data. Developers of the Envirocon range of environment control, monitoring and logging systems.

Entomology and Nematology

Head: Professor Brian Kerry

Insect and plant interactions; insect population and dynamics, biodiversity and changes with farmland usage; invertebrate pathology, diagnostics and biological control methods; novel strategies for slug control, host parasitic relationships, pollination studies.

Biological and Ecological Chemistry

Head: Professor John Pickett

Well known as the origin of the synthetic pyrethroids but things have moved on from this purely synthetic chemistry approach; molecular structure and biological activity, mechanisms of insecticide resistance, chemical ecology, semiochemicals and pheromones, physical chemistry.

Crop and Disease Management

Head: Professor Roger Plumb

The Crop and Disease Management (CDM) department is the newest and largest department at Rothamsted and was created in October 1995 to bring together the work being carried out by the former Crop Management and Plant Pathology department.

Crop & Environmental Science

Head: Dr David Glen

Less intensive integrated crop management; willow biomass crops; ecology of plants and invertebrates in farmland; modelling effects of climate change on crops; disease epidemiology and forecasting; disease diagnostics; fungicide resistance; biocontrol of slugs, weeds and disease; weed ecology, management of aquatic vegetation and field margins; tropical weeds; herbicide action; pesticide adjuvants; spray application technology.

Plant Science

Head: Dr Richard Hooley

Biosynthesis, perception and mechanisms of action of plant hormones. Mineral nutrient uptake and assimilation. Plant root responses to poor aeration. Seed dormancy and pod shatter mechanisms.

Cell Biology

Head: Dr John Lucas

The Seed Biology group are investigating seed structure and composition in cereals and oilseeds, with particular emphasis on storage proteins. The Developmental Biology and Molecular Genetics group includes root development, responses to stress, genome instability, and molecular biodiversity. Research in Molecular Pathology is concerned with host-pathogen interactions, especially fungal pathogens and parasitic angiosperms.

Comments and suggestions about these WWW pages are always welcome.

For more information about the activities of IACR please contact Susannah Bolton (susannah.bolton@bbsrc.ac.uk).

[Document last modified on Wednesday, 28 February 1996]