Qifan (Leo) Yin

Thesis title: Unfolding the potential of alpine pennycress for nickel agromining

Biography

Background

BBSRC-funded PhD Student (EASTBIO)

I hold a BSc in Environmental Science from Hong Kong Baptist University (2020) and an MSc in Environmental Protection and Management from the University of Edinburgh and SRUC (2021). I am now pursuing a BBSRC-funded PhD at SRUC and the University of Edinburgh’s School of Geosciences through the EASTBIO doctoral training partnership.

My research focuses on evaluating the nickel uptake capacities of various Alyssum hyperaccumulator species and investigating the influence of microbial inoculation, phytohormones, and environmentally friendly low-molecular-weight organic acids and chelators on the phytomining process. I am also interested in the physiological and biochemical responses of hyperaccumulators to metals, as well as the underlying mechanisms driving hyperaccumulation.

Outside the lab, I enjoy playing rugby, hitting the gym, hiking, and discovering great coffee spots. I’m always up for outdoor adventures of any kind!

Project activity

Project title:

Unfolding the potential of alpine pennycress for nickel agromining

My research project will assess the nickel uptake ability of different alpine pennycress ecotypes (a plant that uptakes and hyperaccumulates an extraordinary amount of metals like zinc, cadmium and nickel) and determine the effect of microbial inoculation, biochar, phytohormones, and low molecular weight organic acids in the overall agromining process. Agromining (or phytomining) is a plant-based technique to retrieve valuable elements from metal-enriched soils. Also, this research project will provide valuable knowledge about mechanisms that can be useful to improve phytoremediation.

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