Professional summary

David obtained a BSc in Biology and the University of Manchester and his PhD and first Post-doctoral position at the University of Reading where he developed and assessed the ecological relevant of different bioassay methods for assessing the effects of pollutants on soil invertebrate species. David Joined the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology in 1998, working first at Monks Wood and then since 2008 at Wallingford as a Principal Scientist and since 201 and a Merit Scientist working in the field of ecotoxicology and chemical risk. In his work, he specializes in assessing the effects of anthropogenic stressors and pollution on soil communities in agricultural, urban, and semi-natural and natural ecosystems. His research now covers a variety of topics. He was part of the EU NanoFASE project investigating the fate, bioavailability and effects of nanomaterials on terrestrial species, and he has received funding from the Natural Environment Research Council for projects on the application of genetic and epigenetic approaches to understand adaptation to long-term chemical exposure.

A key theme in his work has been in understanding the mechanisms that underlie variation in how species respond to chemical exposure. This is the key topic of his current work which seeks to bring new system level understanding of species response to exposures. He has acted as an advisor to the UK Environment Agency on mixture toxicity integration into chemical management and for EFSA on emerging risk issues. He is a member of the management board of the GW4+ DTP and EcoRISC CDT and a member of the UK Expert Committee on Pesticides.

Selected publications