Facilities and Staff

The KTC has commissioned the largest publicly available PBRs in the UK.

The Team

Headed by Dr Robin Shields, Dr Adam Powell and Dr Alla Silkina, we work out of the Centre for Sustainable Aquaculture in the Department of Biosciences.

This department has been a hub for microalgal research over several decades, focusing on both ecological importance of algae their and application for biotechnology and aquaculture.

The team has developed wide expertise and facilities, and in collaboration with colleagues in the Centre for Complex Fluids Processing (Engineering Department) are able to offer a range of services and advice covering a number of applications.

Staff

Dr Robin Shields

Research Director

Robin is currently director of the CSAR facility at Swansea University and has a wide range of skills and knowledge in applied aquaculture research, specialising in "live" feeds, larval nutrition and algal biotechnology.

BSc Zoology/Marine Biology (Wales)

PhD in Marine Biology (Wales)

Dr Adam Powell

Knowledge Transfer Officer

Adam has been resident ar Swansea University since 1999, and holds a BSc (hons) in Marine Biology and a PhD in aquatic animal pathology and immunology (2006). Since this time he has worked as an algal technician and post doctoral researcher at the CSAR, assisting delivery for a variety of applied aquaculture projects for UK and European industrial partners (aquatic animal health management and welfare). Outreach activities have included assisting aquaculture industry association groups and speaking at a number of academic and public events.

Adam’s current role mainly lies in industrial liaison with Welsh enterprises for the Algal Biotechnology for Wales KTC.

Dr Alla Silkina

KTC Research Officer

Alla has expertise with algal biotechnology and ecological physiology of microalgae. Her skills include mass and batch culture of microalgae, PBR maintenance, and the optimization of growth kinetics and assessment of growth and physiology.

BSc Phycology & Biology (V.Z. Kharazin National Kharkov University in Ukraine)

PhD Biology (University of Southern Brittany, France)

Other Staff and Students

The algal KTC is also supported by Debbie Nickson (Admin Assistant) and several other members of staff and students who work on associated projects.

Graham Nelson (MSc) - Research Assistant

Graham is a chemical engineer working on the newly established Accomplish project in collaboration with TATA Steel and will be developing algal technologies for the sequestration of CO₂ from industrial flue-gases.

Craig Pooley - Research Technician

Craig works primarily in the CSAR and is responsible to algal husbandry and photobioreactor maintenance.

Two PhD students, Jiyuan Sui and Joshua Mayers also work in collaboration with the KTC on microalgal projects. Jiyuan is investigating the modeling of microalgal production systems, while Josh works with a KTC partner - Merlin Biodevelopments Ltd to optimise algal production for particular high-value products.

Our Facilities

One of the objectives of the KTC is to provide access to demonstration scale algal production and training. In addition to batch culture facilities the KTC has commissioned two 600L tubular photobioreactors, which are currently the largest publicly accessible facility of its kind in the UK.

We also have access to a range of analytical equipment and the expertise capable of determining several algal growth parameters, as well as the characterisation and quantification of important algal metabolites.

There is also growing interest in the use of nutrient-rich waste water or flue gas from industry in algal biotechnology and as such we have an increasingly developed understanding of their characterisation and utilisation for biomass production.

Analysis of microalgal cultures by flow cytometry

Flow cytometry analysis of algal cultures