Shauna McLoughlin

I am a PhD student in the School of Earth, Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences based at The University of Manchester. My research area is in Environmental Geochemistry and Geomicrobiology and the focus of my project is to understand selenium toxicity in the natural environment. Selenium is an important micronutrient to humans and animals with the narrowest range between deficiency and toxicity than any other element and therefore controlled dietary intake is important. My project will explore the entire selenium cycle, from the source rock, regolith, soil, to the uptake in plants, examining the biotic vs abiotic processes involved.

As part of my project, I carried out field work in Limerick, Ireland in an area containing naturally elevated concentrations of selenium. Collaborating with TEAGASC, The Agriculture and Food Development Authority in Ireland I will hopefully help clients dealing with toxicity issues in agriculture. My PhD gives me the opportunity to gain experience in a number of detailed laboratory techniques to analyse the mineralogy, geochemistry, organics and microbial activity of the samples collected in the field.

As part of the NERC doctoral training programme I attend a number of workshops, seminars and lectures to support my theoretical knowledge and academic writing skills. In 2015, I will be going on three short intensive training courses run by the Natural History Museum and Cranfield University to develop my field work techniques and analysis. My supervisors encourage me to attend conferences related to my area of research. Next summer I hope to present in the Goldschmidt conference in Prague which is the premiere international conference on geochemistry where I have the chance to network with experts in my field.

Alongside my research I have been part of the organising committee for the schools postgraduate conference which takes place once a year. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and it gave me the opportunity to develop my organisation and project managing skills. I am also a teaching assistant for two first year undergraduate courses in Environmental Science and Geology which has helped improve my confidence in communicating scientific concepts and demonstrating analytical techniques.