Future food
Mapping the distribution of wild species of food plants and the insects associated with them to help plant breeders prepare crops for the future.
Anthropocene and sustainability
© Amphon Jindawatthana/Shutterstock.com
We live in the Anthropocene where humans are changing Earth’s natural systems and biodiversity. We are facing a planetary emergency.
Our expertise in taxonomy, systematics and mineralogy drives our research in securing the future of our food, health and natural materials.
Our projects
Designing sustainable food systems
EXCALIBUR: soil biodiversity in horticulture
Understanding soil biodiversity and dynamics.
Understanding disease biology and improving health outcomes for nature and people
Neglected tropical diseases
Relieving the suffering of some of the 1.4 billion people infected with a neglected tropical disease.
Schistosomiasis research group
Understanding and controlling this neglected tropical disease.
Resourcing the green economy
Critical elements research
Working to ensure the sustainable supply of raw materials for future generations.
Mining a sustainable future
Creating a cleaner, greener future at the Royal Society Summer Science exhibition 2021.
Other sustainability projects
Plastic in the Thames
Finding a large volume of unseen submerged plastic flowing into the marine environment.
FAME and fortune
Working to ensure the sustainable supply of raw materials for future generations in a major new European Commission-funded project.
Li4UK: Securing a domestic lithium supply chain for the UK
Demonstrating the feasibility of producing battery-quality lithium compounds from lithium found in UK rocks and geothermal waters.
Image credit: Hand holding soil© Shutterstock/bluedog studio
