Experimental biology and impact: solutions to climate change and biodiversity loss

Professor Wayne Dawson’s research focuses on understanding the causes and consequences of invasions by introduced plants at multiple spatial scales, from individual plants to ecological communities, and through to the whole world (macroecology). He is particularly interested in plant communities and plant-soil interactions. Before moving to Liverpool, he was an Associate Professor at Durham University (2016–2023). From 2011 to 2015, he was a senior post-doc at the University of Konstanz (Germany), where he became a core team member of the Global Naturalized Alien Flora (GloNAF) database project, working with colleagues from Austria, Germany, and the Czech Republic.

In his talk Professor Dawson will cover both his research and his broader impact work.. His research focuses on the causes and consequences of invasions by introduced plants on ecosystems. He uses his expertise in this area to regularly contributes to workshops and risk assessments aimed at identifying species posing a high risk of invasion to the UK and beyond.

Esther Ngumbi is an Assistant Professor in Entomology and African American Studies, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. She is a senior food security fellow with the New Voices Fellowship at the Aspen Institute.

Her research is focused on understanding how climate change associated stressors including flooding impact chemical-mediated interactions among herbivorous insects, natural enemies, plants and their associated microorganisms. In addition, Dr. Ngumbi’ s research on beneficial soil microbes seeks to find microbial-based solutions for improving crop production, alleviating flooding and drought stress in crop plants and sustainable pest management and agriculture.

She has been the recipient of several national and international awards including UIUC Campus Awards for Excellence in Public Engagement with Science, the 2021 American Association for the Advancement of Science Mani L. Bhaumik Award for Public Engagement with Science, and 2018 Society of Experimental Biology Presidents Medal. 

Dr. Ngumbi is a thought leader and has contributed immensely to national and global discussions in several areas, including climate change, need to invest in flooding research, food security, science policy, agricultural development, and sustainability. Believing that issues like climate change associated extremes and hunger and food insecurity affect all of us, Dr. Ngumbi has continued to demonstrate visionary and inspirational leadership in the pursuit of a sustainable future where hunger and food insecurity are eradicated, and a future where scientific research provides sustainable solutions to climate change.