Dr Gareth Norton

Biography

BSc (Hons), Molecular Biology, University of Hertfordshire, 2001

PhD, Plant Molecular Biology, University of Hertfordshire, 2005

Research Fellow, University of Aberdeen, 2005-2013

Lecturer, University of Aberdeen, 2013-2017

Senior Lecturer, University of Aberdeen, 2017- 2021

Reader, University of Aberdeen 2021-present

Research Overview

My research interests include the accumulation and distribution of elements in plants and their impact on human health and food security, with a focus on arsenic and beneficial minerals such as zinc. I have been integrating elemental concentrations with genetic mapping, genomics, and transcriptomics, with the aim of identifying genes and the mechanisms responsible for the accumulation of elements in plants. I also have an interest in understanding the processes involved in arsenic (and other metals) cycling in the environment.

Current Research

Current research group.

PhD students.

Angstone Mlangeni

Panthita Ruangareerate

Abubakar Yuguda

Istiaq Ahmed

Ayotunde Adeosun

Caijin Chen

Rosie Boyko

Alysha Knight

Juani Hallat-Sanchez

Yehia Hazzazi

Former research group.

PhD student

Zainab Abubakar Adamu – “Genetics of drought resistance in rice: Role of aquaporins on root hydraulic conductance and water use traits in rice”.

Mohammad Sayedul Islam – “Physiological and Molecular characterization of adaptation to alternative wetting and drying in Bangladeshi rice cultivars”

Partha Talukdar – “The transfer mechanism of arsenic in rice from the shoot to the grain during grain filling.”

Tanvir Chowdhury – “Biogeochemical cycling of elements in Bangladeshi soils”

Munmi Phukon - "Transcriptomics study of rice in response to alternate wetting and drying irrigation”

Natasha Falconer – “Rice: balancing sustainable agricultural production methods and cultivar diversity with nutrient content and contaminant levels - a Bangladeshi dietary modelling proof of concept project"

Barry Nourice - "Impact of salinity on agriculture in the Seychelles"

Jonathan Cope – “Introgressing resilience and resource use efficiency traits from Scots Bere to elite barley”

Research technician

Claire Deacon

Luke Harrold

Funding and Grants

BBSRC funded project “A genetic dissection of traits required for sustainable water use in rice using Genome Wide Association Studies (GWAS)” joint with Lancaster, the International Rice Research Institute and Bangladesh Agricultral University (Mymensingh). £1.1 M with £922 K to Aberdeen. Co-I (P.I. Adam Price). Start February 2012, end January 2016.

Scottish Funding Council - via Food and Drink Network "Identifying environmental factors which cause variation in fatty acid composition in rapeseed oil". £5K. P.I. (Co-I's; Prof Paul Hallett and Prof David Salt).

Teaching Responsibilities

Course coordinator:

EV3801 / EV5800: Environmental Analysis

EV3519 / EV5519: Ecosystem Science

SS5805: Land Use and the Changing Environment (Joint with Prof. Graeme Paton)

Course contribution

BI1511 Ecology and Environmental Science

PL3309 / SS5305: Soils for Food Security