Our researchers
Prof. Bernd Hänfling
IBFC Director
Expertise: eDNA, population genetics, phylogeography, freshwater conservation
Dr Victoria Pritchard
Senior Researcher in Genomics
Expertise: conservation genetics, evolutionary genetics, bioinformatics.
Dr Martin Gaywood
Senior Researcher
Expertise: Species and ecosystem restoration, conservation translocation
Dr Barbara Morrissey
Researcher in Genetics
Expertise: Molecular ecology, methods development for molecular genetics.
Dr Euan Bowditch
Researcher & Lecturer in Forestry and Social Ecology
Expertise: Forestry and integrated land management, social science methods, forest and tree health, nature and education.
Dr Andrew Duncan
Researcher & Lecturer in Data Science
Expertise in: Network analysis, mathematical modelling, data visualisation, R and Shiny.
Dr Monika Maleszka-Ritchie
Research Development Facilitator Researcher in Archaeology
Expertise in archaeology, heritage outreach and interpretation.
Dr Nathan P. Griffiths
Researcher in Environmental DNA
Expertise: Molecular ecology, freshwater ecology, environmental management and decision-making.
Dr Cristian Navarro Waggershauser
Researcher in Wildlife Ecology
Expertise: Species interactions, population ecology, molecular ecology, camera trapping, wildlife management.
Dr Samantha Beck
Marie Sklodowska-Curie Global Research Fellow
Expertise: Evolutionary biology, genomics, conservation genetics.
Dasha Svobodova
Research Assistant
Expertise: Molecular genetics, water chemistry.
Charley Clark
Research Assistant
Expertise: Microbiology, laboratory skills and maintenance.
Matthew Curran
Research Assistant & Lecturer in Environmental Science
Expertise: Knowledge exchange, freshwater biodiversity conservation, Scottish salmon management.
Students
Lydia McGill
PhD student
Project: Genomic analysis of population connectivity in the Scottish marine protected areas network to inform nature conservation.
Sam Jones
PhD student
Project: Development of a robust, standardised protocol for monitoring the distribution, abundance, and ecology of the freshwater pearl mussel, M. margaritifera.
James Macarthur
PhD student
Project: Investigating the impacts of beavers on migratory fish and conservation priority mammals.
Beccy Middleton
PhD student
Project: The impacts of wildfire and afforestation in peatland: a multi-stressor approach to the recovery of peatland’s soil biota
Eleanor Foster
PhD student
Project: Will feral pigs aid or threaten landscape scale nature recovery in Scotland? Understanding their genetics, ecology and public perceptions.
Finn Cowell
PhD Student
Project: Understanding changes in migration timing in Scotland’s Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar).
Alanna-Jo McCallum
MRes student
Project: Exploring the microbiome in Scottish freshwater pearl mussels - a metabarcoding analysis using third generation nanopore sequencing.
Robert Jackson
MRes student
Project: Smolts through the system; a comprehensive investigation of salmon smolt migration through the Awe hydro scheme.
George Gunn
MRes student
Project: From Awareness to Action: Investigating Public Attitudes and Decision-Making Factors for Air Source Heat Pumps in Rural Scotland
Rosalin Mistry
MRes student
Project: Predictive relationships in the distribution of freshwater invertebrates, eDNA and Daubenton's bats (Myotis daubentonii)”
Marlene Charlotte Mellwig
Visiting student
Project: Peatland biodiversity responses to wildfire above and below-ground after five years of recovery
Research associates
External supervision
External supervision
External supervision
Andrada Opris
Supervisor name: Prof. Bernd Hänfling
Home organisation: Napier University Edinburgh
Clare Collins
Supervisor name: Prof. Bernd Hänfling
Home organisation: University of Hull
Ilgaz Cakim
Supervisor name: Dr Barbara Morrissey
Home organisation: UHI North, West and Hebrides
Matthew Lewis
Supervisor name: Prof. Bernd Hänfling
Home organisation: John Moores University Liverpool
Precious Munyanduki
Supervisor name: Dr Euan Bowditch
Home organisation: University of Freetown and Venda in South Africa
- Precious MUNYANDUKI | Senior Technician | MSc Forest Management and Environment | University of Venda, Thohoyandou | univen | Department of Forestry | Research profile (researchgate.net)
- Precious Munyanduki | LinkedIn
Sara Peixoto
Supervisor name: Prof. Bernd Hänfling
Home organisation: University of Hull
Victoria Ashley-Wheeler
Supervisor name: Dr Barbara Morrissey
Home organisation: Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS).
Victoria Gillman
Supervisor name: Dr Victoria Pritchard
Home organisation: University of Aberdeen
Alumni
Alumni
Former UHI Inverness researchers
- Dr James Macdonald (KTP Associate - Product Development Engineer 2023-24), now Post-Doctoral Research Officer at School of Computer Science and Engineering at Bangor University.
- Professor Eric Verspoor (Head of the Rivers and Lochs Institute 2012-2022, Senior Researcher 2012-2024), now Emeritus Professor
- Professor Melanie Smith (Vice Principal Academic and Research 2003 – 2023), now Research Director of the Atlantic Salmon Trust.
- Dr Louise De Raad (Researcher 2013-2022), now Head of Research Scotland and Director of the Scottish Research & Demonstration Farm, Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust.
- Silvia Ferreira Carvalho (Research Assistant 2018-2021), now Higher Scientific Officer at Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute, Belfast.
- Dr Agata Drywa (Researcher 2017-2020)
- Dr Mark Coulson (Senior Researcher 2014-2019), now Science Advisor for Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Canada.
- Dr Elspeth Macdonald (Researcher 2013-2020)
Graduate students:
Dr. Sunny Bradbury (PhD)
The spatial scale of adaptive population differentiation in Atlantic salmon: local adaptation in smolt migration.
Award date: 2024
Supervisor: Professor Eric Verspoor
Dr. Celia Delugin (PhD)
Ecotourism development and loch biodiversity conservation in Highland Scotland: identifying pathways to future shared success.
Award date: 2024
Supervisors: Professor Eric Verspoor / Professor Vicky Johnson
Dr. Antti Miettinen (PhD, University of Helsinki)
Genomic approaches to guide the conservation and management of wild Atlantic salmon.
Award date: 2023
Supervisor: Dr. Victoria Pritchard
Asta Pavilionytė (MRes Archaeology)
Evaluating and reviewing the structure and public benefits realised by archaeological investigations undertaken as a consequence of major road infrastructure development in Scotland.
Award date: 2023
Supervisor: Dr. Monika Maleszka-Ritchie
Dr. Stuart Bence (PhD)
An Investigation into the Presence of Parasitoids of the Pine Tree Lappet Moth (Dendrolimus pini) in the Highlands of Scotland and the Development of an Identification Method using DNA Barcoding.
Award date: 2023
Supervisor: Professor Melanie Smith
Dr Shraveena Venkatesh (PhD)
Environmental DNA metabarcoding for assessing benthic ecological status associated with salmon farming.
Award date: 2022
Supervisors: Dr Barbara Morrissey/ Dr Victoria Pritchard
Dr Evan Roderick (PhD)
Fish counters what are they counting and what does it tell us?
Award date: 2021
Supervisor: Professor Eric Verspoor