Cohort 2 (2026 start)
Rural Landscapes and Food Systems
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Projects within this cohort are working towards understanding and solving the problems of rural landscapes and good systems
Projects within this cohort are working towards understanding and solving the problems of rural landscapes and good systems
Cameron Hollick - University of York
Project: Fast-Tracking Food Safety: Cutting-Edge Mass Spectrometry for Protecting Food Supplies from Hidden Environmental Contaminants
Partner: Fera
Food is a non-negotiable need for every organism, thus it is of critical importance to produce a safe supply. However, runoff from industrial, agricultural and urban settings is easily leached into the environment, where chemical pollutants then accumulate in both animal and plant sources of food, and exert deleterious toxological effects on humans. Although current food protection frameworks have expanded in recent years to cover a larger group of polluting chemicals, the scope of such frameworks remains restricted to well-known contaminants. As a result, not much is known about emerging contaminants, whose toxological effects may actually warrant significant concern.
My work uses non-targeted mass spectrometry (NTMS) to detect, quantify and probe emerging contaminants in rural food systems. By combining NTMS with advanced separation techniques, I aim to develop rapid methods by which PFAS "forever chemicals", pharmaceuticals, pesticides, and other environmentally relevant compounds can be detected, then apply these methods to a case study on food samples from the local area. The ultimate goal of my research is to produce a detailed picture of chemical interactions and exposure, informing future policy decisions and making food safer for all.
Contact: mh2656@york.ac.uk
Elanor Ashbridge – University of York
Project: Investigating the environmental impacts of urine-derived fertilisers on soil nitrogen cycling and greenhouse gas emissions
Partner: NPK Recovery
Fertilisers are essential for maintaining agricultural productivity and supporting global food security. However, producing and applying conventional fertilisers contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. They can disrupt natural nitrogen cycling, resulting in environmental problems such as nitrous oxide emissions, nutrient leaching and water pollution. Developing more sustainable fertiliser alternatives is important for reducing the environmental footprint of agriculture while maintaining soil fertility and crop production.
Human urine has promising sources of plant nutrients, particularly nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, which can be recovered and reused as fertilisers. This approach supports a circular economy by recovering valuable nutrients from wastewater that would otherwise be lost. The issue is that urine can also contain pharmaceutical residues excreted by humans, which may persist through treatment and enter agricultural soils when urine-derived fertilisers are applied.
My PhD investigates the environmental impacts of urine-derived fertilisers, with a particular focus on how pharmaceutical residues may influence soil nitrogen cycling and greenhouse gas emissions. I will explore how these compounds interact with soil microbial communities and key nitrogen transformation processes, which influence the availability of nitrogen to plants and the production of environmentally significant gases. This research aims to improve our understanding of the environmental risks and benefits of urine-derived fertilisers and help inform the development of safe and sustainable nutrient recovery practices for agriculture.
Contact: kdb545@york.ac.uk
Eve Torode - University of Sheffield
Project: Uncovering the mechanisms of pharmaceuticals impact on agrucultural productivity
Partner: NPK Recovery
Synthetic fertilisers, manufactured from nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P), are essential to
modern food production, but their use comes with significant environmental costs, from
energy-intensive manufacturing to greenhouse gas emissions. Simultaneously, overloaded
wastewater systems are rich in N and P waste, which can overflow into waterways during
flooding, contributing to eutrophication.
Bio-fertiliser derived from N/P in wastewater offers a potential solution by recycling nutrients
from urine sewage collected from, among other sources, festival toilets, to replace
conventional fertiliser. However, this bio-fertiliser can also contain an array of
pharmaceuticals such as antibiotics, antifungal medications and other drugs that may impact
soil microbial communities which play an important role in soil functioning and ecosystem
health. These communities are the foundation for plant productivity and above ground
ecological communities.
My project investigates how nutrients (N and P) and pharmaceutical contaminants in bio-
fertilisers interact to shape soil microbial communities, how this affects plant productivity and
ultimately how they shape below- and above-ground biodiversity. By developing
mathematical models of below-ground communities I can investigate the combined effects of
N/P fertiliser and pharmaceuticals on soil biodiversity, plant productivity and plant species
coexistence. I will then extend these models to reveal whether and how pharmaceutical
contaminants and fertilisers drive above-ground biodiversity beyond just the plant
communities. Understanding these mechanisms could help identify targeted mitigation
strategies during bio-fertiliser production to enhance the value of these recycled sources of
fertiliser.
Contact: EHTorode1@sheffield.ac.uk
Katerina Elger - UKCEH
Project: Farming Futures: comparing regenerative and conventional practices on soil, chemical use, and ecosystems in a changing climate
Partner: JNCC
Agricultural pollution is a complex, systemic challenge shaped by interactions between farming practices, environmental processes, markets and policy. Addressing it requires evidence that reflects real farming conditions, captures the longer-term effects of pollution and helps inform practical management and policy decisions.
Regenerative agriculture is increasingly promoted as a way to improve soil health, biodiversity and agricultural resilience while maintaining food production. However, evidence on how agricultural practices across regenerative farms, and between regenerative and conventional farms, influence chemical pollution remains limited. In particular, the effects of pesticide mixtures, legacy contamination and the fate and persistence of pesticides in soils, and how these relate to soil functioning and wider ecosystem outcomes, remain poorly understood.
During my PhD, I will investigate these relationships across real farming systems, focusing on RSPB’s regenerative Hope Farm and surrounding farms with a range of management practices. I will examine how agronomic practices, chemical inputs and land-use history relate to pesticide residues and their bioavailability in soils, alongside indicators of soil health and functioning and broader ecological outcomes. I will then use modelling to explore how these impacts might vary under different management and policy scenarios and future climate conditions.
By investigating variation in agricultural management, this research aims to generate real-world evidence on how farming practices influence chemical pollution, ecosystem functioning and agricultural resilience. The findings could help inform more sustainable farming practices and evidence-based agricultural policy.
Contact: KESElger1@sheffield.ac.uk
Lily Clarke - University of York
Project: The environmental benefits and risks of innovative urine-based fertilisers in sustainable agriculture
Partner: NPK Recovery
The production of human-derived urine-based fertilisers (UBFs) reduces waste and liberates urine from the wastewater treatment pipeline, creating an eco-friendly product at a fraction of the price of traditional fertilisers that are currently experiencing cost inflation due to geo-political conflicts. Current UBF innovators within the circular bioeconomy, such as NPK Recovery, collect urine from major music festivals and sporting events, converting it into fertiliser in-situ and reducing the environmental impact of such large scale events.
However, the excreted chemical contaminant profile (pharmaceuticals, illicit drugs, metabolites) within UBFs creates unique issues yet to be addressed in current regulations and environmental risk assessment frameworks. Risks presented by their application include indirect groundwater contamination, run-off to surface water, and uptake of chemical contaminants by crops leading to potential dietary exposure.
This PhD project aims to compare the chemical profile of UBFs derived from festivals and sporting events and their associated risks and batch variabilities. The project will employ OECD 312-style soil leaching studies and LC-MS/MS to assess potential groundwater contamination risks and will trial contamination mitigation strategies, such as cold plasma treatment, in an attempt to reduce the chemical burden of UBFs. Additionally, it will explore how UBFs apply to the current regulatory landscape, identify gaps in current policy, and will consider regulatory ramifications for UBF producers, such as extended producer responsibility (EPR).
Contact: lily.clarke@york.ac.uk
Lo Larsson - University of Sheffield
Project: Harnessing microbes and cold plasma to concentrate and destroy PFA ‘forever chemicals’
Partners: Plasma Fresh
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a group of synthetic chemicals of immediate concern to the entire biosphere. Due to their recalcitrant nature, many vectors of transport, and tendency to bioaccumulate, these “forever chemicals” are now found in every environmental compartment. To make matters worse, studies indicate that some of these chemicals cause a plethora of adverse health effects across species, and humanity has yet to find a sustainable, scalable, and efficient way of removing these chemicals from nature.
For my PhD project, I will be working together with a multidisciplinary team of supervisors to investigate the potential of using naturally occurring, PFAS-resistant bacteria to accumulate these chemicals. Utilizing transdisciplinary methods from microbiology, physics, and analytical chemistry, we will evaluate the capacity of these microbes to essentially work as PFAS sponges. Following this, we will investigate directing their movement to targeted locations, and finally, with the help of our industry sponsor, test if we can break down the accumulated PFAS using cold plasma.
The goal of this project is therefore to contribute a biological, cost-effective, and scalable solution to one of our time's pressing issues.
Contact: ljlarsson1@sheffield.ac.uk
Liam Fisher – University of York
Project: Unavoidable Food Waste Valorisation: Detection, hazard and risk of rogue chemical residues
Partner: FERA Science
Across the entire food supply chain – production, transportation, storage, processing, distribution, consumption – food supply chain wastes (FSCW) have become a serious problem, seeing the loss of approximately 33% of food produced globally in the form of avoidable and unavoidable FSCW (UFSCW). Interestingly, UFSCW are a rich source of biomolecules and biopolymers which present the opportunity to transition away from unsustainable waste management methods in favour of valorisation approaches which align with a circular, biobased economy.
I have the amazing opportunity to process UFSCW by ‘green’ means to generate a range of chemical entities – some of which are still to be detected. Through the use of mass spectrometry, I will then qualify and quantify any rogue chemical residues and assess them based on their hazardous potential, informing subsequent decisions on continuous use or safe removal.
Contact: lfz543@york.ac.uk
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