Amy Cooper
Dr Amy Cooper is a Research Scientist in the Environmental and Biochemical Sciences Department. She was awarded her PhD in Zoology in 2023 from the University of Aberdeen, where she investigated the interactions between the honey bee (Apis mellifera), the parasitic Varroa mite and the deformed wing virus at the Varroa mite feeding site. She started her first postdoctoral position at the James Hutton Institute soon after, where she first carried out a broad scoping review of environmental exposures to human pathogens and foreign policy regarding environmental pathogen monitoring. She currently works in both a commercial and academic capacity and her research focuses on pathogens. She is interested in environmental contaminants, antimicrobial resistance and microplastics, particularly their interactions with invertebrates.
Current research interests
- Environmental exposures to human pathogens
- Chemical sterilisation of soil
- Drivers of Mycobacterium avium paratuberculosis (MAP) transmission from the environment to livestock
- Flows of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and pathogens through the environment to the food chain
Past research
2018 - 2022 PhD: A Holistic Investigation of the Varroa Mite Feeding Site: Concerning Apis mellifera Gene Regulation, Wound Ultrastructure and the Microbiome.
2020 PIPS: Improving Laboratory Diagnosis of Lyme Disease and Collecting Epidemiological Data for Tick-Borne Diseases.
2017 - 2018 MSc: c-Jun N-terminal kinase signalling not activated in U937 cells treated with vincristine.
Role of JNK signalling in apoptosis driven by microtubule inhibitors.
2014 - 2017 BSc: Methods for determining biocontrol potential of Metarhizium acridum isolates
2013 - 2014 RA with the RSPB: Using dual-sex calls improves the playback census method for a nocturnal burrow-nesting seabird, the Manx Shearwater Puffinus puffinus.
First spider survey of Grassholm island since the 1930s (2014)
Record for the most isolated Welsh centipede (2014)
Bibliography
- Pagaling, E.; Buswell, V.; Cooper, A.; Hedley, P.; Cock, P.; Robinson, L.; Morris, J. (2024) Testing the validity of using eDNA for carbon origin analysis from sediment cores, Natural England website
- Pagaling, E.; Cooper, A.; Cock, P.; Freitag, T.; Avery, L. (2024) Review of biases in metabarcoding primers for DNA analysis, Natural England catalogue
- Helwig, K.; Cooper, A.; Pagaling, E.; Henderson, F.; Avery, L.; Roberts, J.; Mattar, S.; Devalla, S.; Hunter, C.; Frascaroli, G.; Pahl, O.; Escudero, A.; Shortall, O.; Zhang, Z.; Troldborg, M. (2024) Emerging Contaminants: Informing Scotland’s strategic monitoring and policy approaches on substances of increasing concern, CREW website
- Avery, L.; Cooper, A. L.; Shortall, O.; Pagaling, E.; Troldborg, M.; Hough, R. (2023) Environmental exposures to human pathogens, Environmental exposures to human pathogens. Chief Scientist’s Group report: Environmental Agency.
- Pagaling, E.; Buswell, V.; Cooper, A.; Hedley, P.; Cock, P.; Robinson, L.; Morris, J. (2024) Testing the validity of using eDNA for carbon origin analysis from sediment cores, Natural England website
- Pagaling, E.; Cooper, A.; Cock, P.; Freitag, T.; Avery, L. (2024) Review of biases in metabarcoding primers for DNA analysis, Natural England catalogue
- Helwig, K.; Cooper, A.; Pagaling, E.; Henderson, F.; Avery, L.; Roberts, J.; Mattar, S.; Devalla, S.; Hunter, C.; Frascaroli, G.; Pahl, O.; Escudero, A.; Shortall, O.; Zhang, Z.; Troldborg, M. (2024) Emerging Contaminants: Informing Scotland’s strategic monitoring and policy approaches on substances of increasing concern, CREW website
- Avery, L.; Cooper, A. L.; Shortall, O.; Pagaling, E.; Troldborg, M.; Hough, R. (2023) Environmental exposures to human pathogens, Environmental exposures to human pathogens. Chief Scientist’s Group report: Environmental Agency.
