Research group

BiOmics

Bar coded DNA sample

Technological advances have allowed scientists to gather large amounts of data about a vast array of species, organisms and single cells. Our researchers are using mathematical modelling, machine learning and other algorithms to extract information and patterns from large data sets to further our understanding of disease.

About

Contemporary scientific research benefits from rapid technological developments that enable the characterisation and quantification of biological molecules at unprecedented scale. Scientists can generate vast data that provide insight into the complex interplay of molecules within organisms. Interrogation and interpretation of these data inform the structure, function and interaction of molecules over time. 

We use ‘Omic technologies comprehensively to evaluate DNA (genomics), RNA (transcriptomics) and proteins (proteomics). We study small molecules using metabolomics. Microorganisms are investigated in a targeted manner using microbiomics or more broadly to characterise mixed samples using metagenomics.

At the University of Southampton, we generate vast datasets using these approaches across a wide range of environments and species. We work closely with NHS partners to use these capabilities to understand human disease and inform its clinical management. We bring together medical and biological scientists with mathematicians, computer and data scientists to develop and apply methods that exploit these data to their fullest potential.

From analysing patient genomes, to carrying out metagenomic analysis of water samples to using mass spectrometry metabolic profiling techniques, our scientists are studying the unique processes that take place within cells that can lead to disease or poor health outcomes in humans and help track changes in the environment.   

We are using data to answer clinical questions in areas such as cancer, autoimmune and respiratory diseases with the help of clinical colleagues we are translating our findings into novel techniques for clinicians to treat their patients, make predictions about prognosis and drug responsiveness.

Our researchers collaborate with partners at:

People, projects and publications

People

Professor Kate Ward

Professor in Global M/skeletal Health
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Professor Kath Woods-Townsend

Professorial Fellow-Enterprise

Research interests

  • Adolescent Health
  • Scientific Literacy
  • Health Literacy

Accepting applications from PhD students

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Dr Katherine Bradbury

Principal Research Fellow
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Professor Katherine Newman-Taylor

Professorial Fellow-Education

Research interests

  • CBT and mindfulness for psychosis
  • Attachment based interventions for psychosis
  • Recovery approaches to living well with severe mental ill-health

Accepting applications from PhD students

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Dr Kathy Carnelley

Associate Professor

Research interests

  • My research area is personal relationships. I investigate the ways in which attachment experiences with parents and romantic partners influence how people view the self, others and relationships. My research focuses on how models of self and others influence people's thoughts, emotions, and behaviours in romantic relationships, for example relationship functioning and caregiving. I am co-founder of the UK Attachment Network.
  • One stream of my research focuses on moving people toward felt security. Attachment security is associated with better relationship quality and well-being. I examine the extent to which temporarily activated attachment security (via priming) can lead to these positive outcomes in a series of studies.  With my colleagues and students, for example, I have investigated the effects of priming attachment security on self-views and relationship-views, feelings of vitality and energy, pain sensitivity, mental health, and therapy attitudes. In addition, I have tested ways to increase the impact of a security prime via repeated priming in the lab, online, or via text messaging.
  • Other streams of research focus on attachment networks (e.g., who serves as attachment figures, how they change over time). Recently I’ve investigated the role of partners in coping with the Covid-19 pandemic, examining personal and relational wellbeing and goals. I’m also interested in close relationships and technology use (e.g., technoference).

Accepting applications from PhD students

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Dr Katie Meadmore

Senior Research Fellow

Research interests

  • Research on research
  • Qualitative research
  • Ethics in research
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Dr Katy Sivyer CPsychol, DPhil, MSc, BA

Lecturer

Research interests

  • Understanding how psychological treatments and behaviour change interventions work

Accepting applications from PhD students

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Professor Keith Godfrey

Associate Dean Enterprise
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Dr Kelvin Peh

Assoc Professor of Conservation Science

Research interests

  • Kelvin Peh’s interests range from forest ecology to urban wildlife in respect of diversity and distribution. He is interested in all areas of wildlife-human conflicts and wildlife ecology in human-dominated landscapes, and in the application of his research results to the conservation/management of biological resources.
  • Tropical Forest Ecology – Kelvin’s work on monodominance in tropical tree-dominated systems - has helped rekindle scientific interest in this fascinating, yet relatively unexplored phenomenon in tropical forests. He is the principal editor of a “Routledge Handbook of Forest Ecology Second Edition”, published by Routledge under its “Earthscan” imprint on 7 October 2024 (available at www.routledge.com/9781032348384).
  • Ecosystem Services – Kelvin is best known for his leading role in the development of TESSA (Toolkit for Ecosystem Service Site-based Assessment). TESSA v3.0, published on 31 Oct 2022, is now available at https://www.birdlife.org/tessa-tools/. For the impacts of TESSA, see: https://bit.ly/4ccpken. He continues working on this ecosystem service assessment project to develop and test novel tools for rapidly assessing the net impact of site-based conservation on the provision of ecosystem services. This project runs in collaboration with the University of Cambridge, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, BirdLife International, Tropical Biology Association, Anglia Ruskin University and UNEP-World Conservation Monitoring Centre. Currently, he is leading the ecosystem service task team of the Asian Development Bank’s Regional Flyway Initiative.

Accepting applications from PhD students

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Dr Kif Liakath-Ali MSc, MPhil, PhD.

Lecturer in Advanced Cell Biology

Research interests

  • Regulation of RNA splicing
  • RNA Splicing Misregulation in Neurodegeneration
  • Ribosomes and Alternative Splicing

Accepting applications from PhD students

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We are at a very exciting time in Life Science Research. The potential for novel discovery using ‘omics technologies combined with the computer science methodologies is immense.
Professor of Genomics

Related research institutes, centres and groups

Related research institutes, centres and groups

Contact us

Contact us

Contact the Institute for Life Sciences team by emailing: