Focus on Postgraduates
Background: Kew's Postgraduate Programme
The heart of Kew's postgraduate programme is the Kew Studentship
scheme. Started in 1993 and financed through Kew's Board Reserve
Fund, the scheme provides funding for two PhD projects each year,
with PhD registration being at the university of a collaborating
scientist.
Kew scientists make proposals for potential projects in October
and these are subjected to internal peer review at the end of
January. The two successful projects emerging from this selection
process are usually advertised in New Scientist in April or May.
To be successful, projects need to meet a range of criteria
including being within priority areas of Kew's Corporate
Strategic Plan. Inter-disciplinary approaches which involve
cross-departmental research are also encouraged. The studentships
featured on this page illustrate the wide range of projects
funded. Expressions of interest from students can be submitted to
the Co-ordinator of Graduate Studies at any time of the year.
The postgraduate body at Kew is augmented by students funded by
UK research councils, overseas governments, charitable
foundations and the like. Whereas Kew-funded postgraduates spend
most of their time at Kew, externally-funded students spend
varying amounts of time here as dictated by the project. This
diverse group makes Kew a significant centre for postgraduate
training: currently 50 PhD students link Kew with 25 universities
worldwide.
Contact: Dr Colin Clubbe (0181-332-5637)
Phoenix theophrasti
in SW Turkey, one of the areas visited by Sasha Barrow during her
PhD research.
Sasha Barrow, one of the recipients of the first Kew Studentships
in 1993, is now in the process of submitting her PhD thesis on
the date palm genus Phoenix. For the past three years
Sasha has been working towards a monograph of the genus under the
supervision of Dr John Dransfield (RBG, Kew), Dr Barbara
Pickersgill (University of Reading) and Dr Chris Humphries
(Natural History Museum). Thirteen species of Phoenix
are now recognised, including one new species. Using a
combination of morphological, anatomical and molecular data,
Sasha has studied systematic relationships both within Phoenix
and between the genus and related genera of the Coryphoideae.
Contact: Sasha Barrow (0181-332 5224)
James Richardson collecting
samples of Phylica
from the Temperate House.
James Richardson is in the second year of his Kew Studentship
studying the phylogenetics of the genus Phylica
(Rhamnaceae) and the population genetics of some of its island
species. Phylica consists of ca 150 species with the
majority being endemic to the Cape Province of South Africa.
Several species, however, are found on islands, including Tristan
da Cunha, St. Helena, New Amsterdam, the Mascarenes and
Madagascar. A generic level survey of Rhamnaceae using two DNA
sequence data sets has shown that the closest relatives of Phylica
are Nesiota, endemic to St. Helena, and Noltea, endemic
to the Cape Province. James is currently on field work,
collecting a range of species in South Africa and studying
populations of P. arborea on Tristan da Cunha and neighbouring
islands. The project is supervised by Drs Mike Fay and Mark Chase
at Kew and Dr Quentin Cronk (Royal Botanic Garden and University
of Edinburgh).
Contact: James Richardson (0181-332 5371)
Muasya & Patrick Muthoka are two PhD
students from the National Museums of Kenya (NMK). Muasya (left),
now in the second year of his Kew Studentship, is studying the
taxonomy and phylogeny of the genus Isolepis
(Cyperaceae). He is a graduate of Moi University, Kenya, and a
taxonomist with specialist interests in Cyperaceae and Gramineae.
His PhD work, supervised by Dr David Simpson, includes both
morphological and molecular studies. As part of this he has
produced the first family-wide survey of the rbcL gene in
Cyperaceae. Patrick has just started his ODA-funded research on
the development of seed quality in Albizia tanganyicensis and
Millettia leucantha, supervised by Dr. Robin Probert. A former
graduate of Kew's Diploma in Botanic Garden Management, he is now
involved in NMK's Plant Conservation Programme and is responsible
for developing ex-situ conservation techniques.
Contacts: Muasya (0181-332 5260)
Patrick Muthoka (01444 894088)
Jonathan Steele has been awarded one of this year's Kew Studentships to study whether plants used to treat malaria by indigenous people in parts of Tunisia and South America affect Plasmodium or act as palliatives. For the majority of people living in areas where diseases such as malaria are endemic, plants often represent the sole source of medicines yet often their efficacy remains unknown. The project will be undertaken with Dr David Warhurst (London School of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene) and collaborators in Tunisia and Brazil. It will also address the need to conserve potentially useful medicinal plants, based upon the cultivation of respect for the environment and the appreciation of the value of local biodiversity.
Contact: Dr Monique Simmonds (0181-332 5328)