Thomas Roach

Reactive oxygen species and seed quality

Dr Mariyana Ivanova with Thomas at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa (Image: RBG Kew)

"My Master's course in Plant Conservation at the University of Sussex included a six-month research project at Kew’s Millennium Seed Bank. The quality of the labs and equipment, with the expertise and such specific knowledge of the team, helped in making my decision to apply for my PhD. My work looked into reactive oxygen species (ROS) as markers of seed quality, funded by a grant from the Leverhulme Trust that was awarded to RBG Kew through my supervisor Dr Ilse Kranner. My University supervisor was Dr John Pearson at the University College London.

We collaborate with Professor Richard Beckett and Dr Mariyana Ivanova from the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa and Dr Farida Minibayeva of the Russian Academy of Sciences. I have attended an international conference to present my work and conducted a 2-month period of research with our South African collaborators, which I was very happy about! I have really enjoyed working at the MSB and look forward to publishing and presenting what we found, and getting involved with the wider scientific community.”