Professor Elizabete Carmo-Silva
Professor of Crop PhysiologyResearch Overview
Elizabete is interested in photosynthesis and plant responses to fluctuations in the environment, in particular light and temperature. Her PhD studies focused on photosynthesis and photorespiration in C4 grasses under drought stress. During her post-doctoral research she specialized on Rubisco activation by its molecular chaperone, Rubisco activase, while conducting studies on the interplay between drought and heat stress in cotton. In 2012 she started working on improving photosynthetic performance to increase wheat crop yields at Rothamsted Research, before becoming a lecturer in Plant Sciences for Food Security at the Lancaster Environment Centre in 2015. Her research aims to improve global food security and resource use efficiency by optimising crop performance in response to the changing climate.
Elizabete works closely with all members of the Photosynthesis team at LEC. For more details, please visit our website: wp.lancs.ac.uk/lancsphotosynthesis/
Our research is funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation award RIPE (via a sub-contract to the University of Illinois), and the International Wheat Yield Partnership (IWYP).
Elizabete is a member of the PhD monitoring panel for Plants and Agriculture at LEC and her main teaching includes a second year undergraduate module in Research Design and Delivery as part of the LEC BSc degree schemes in Biology and Ecology & Conservation.
PhD Supervision Interests
I am interested in supervising projects that relate to photosynthesis, crop productivity and the interaction of plants with the surrounding environment, in particular light and temperature.
BBSRC Institute Strategic Programme: Delivering Sustainable Wheat (DSW) Partner Grant
01/04/2023 → 31/03/2028
Research
ENGBIO21: Plant microcompartment engineering for green production
15/02/2023 → 14/02/2024
Research
RIPE III : Realizing Increased Photosynthetic Efficiency for Sustainable Increases in Crop Yield
01/01/2023 → 31/12/2026
Research
RIPE Bridging Funds Tranche 1 (Income Only)
01/09/2022 → 31/12/2022
Research
PhotoBoost
01/09/2020 → 31/08/2025
Research
IWYP - Induction: Faster Adjustment of Photosynthesis to shade-sun transitions in the field to improve wheat yields
15/05/2018 → 14/05/2021
Research
IWYP Call 2: Manipulating Stomatal Blue Light response in wheat to improve productivity
01/04/2018 → 31/03/2021
Research
Realising Increased Photosynthetic Efficiency (RIPE2)
01/09/2017 → 31/08/2022
Research
N8 : Delaying Turnover of Ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate cardoxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco) as a novel mechanism to enhance wheat yeilds.
01/05/2017 → 31/10/2018
Research
Bilateral NSF/BIO-BBSRC Synthesis of Microcompartments in plants for enhanced carbon fixation
01/12/2016 → 30/09/2021
Research
15-IWYP Wider and faster: high-throughout phenotypic exploration of novel genetic variation for breeding high biomass and yield in wheat
01/03/2016 → 30/09/2019
Research
15-IWYP Using Next Generation Genetic Approaches to Exploit Pheotypic Variation in Photosynthetic Efficiency to Increase Wheat Yield
01/02/2016 → 30/09/2019
Research
15-IWYP Realising increased photosynthetic efficiency to increase Wheat Yields
01/01/2016 → 30/09/2019
Research
Exploiting a Cyanobacterial CO2 concentrating Mechanism to increase Photosynthesis and Yield
01/01/2016 → 30/06/2019
Research
Combining field phenotyping and next generation genetics to uncover markers, genes and biology underlying drought tolerance in wheat
16/09/2015 → …
Research
Realizing increased photosynthetic Efficiency for sustainable increases in Crop Yield
01/09/2015 → 31/10/2017
Research
Optimising Rubisco activation to improve photosynthesis in wheat
01/01/2015 → 31/12/2017
Research
Combining Approaches for Photosynthetic Improvement to Allow Increased Sustainability in European Agriculture
01/01/1900 → …
Research
Journal of Experimental Botany (Journal)
Editorial activity
The Biochemical Society (External organisation)
Membership of committee
Current Opinion in Plant Biology (Journal)
Editorial activity
Photosynthesis Research (Journal)
Editorial activity
British Council (External organisation)
Membership of committee
Associação dos Bolseiros de Investigação Científica (External organisation)
Membership of committee
Richard Malkin Award
Prize (including medals and awards)
- Plant and Crop Science