[Orla Sherwood]

I’m loving reading your outreach ideas focused on your research areas. Unfortunately, I haven’t had the opportunity yet to do in person outreach associated with my project since the Covid-19 pandemic. My research is focused on the formation of aerenchyma, channels where death or separation of cells allows gaseous exchange to occur during waterlogging in species such as barley or rice, which ultimately makes plants survive! In barley, one of the species I’m looking at, the aerenchyma is so small, a microscope is needed to really get in there and see it. However, using a stand-in species such as lotus, which has prominent aerenchyma channels present in the underwater root, can be a great way to show off aerenchyma formation on a larger scale.

Beyond my own research, in UCD, we have an evolution garden which is used to teach all ages from primary school children visiting campus to our own undergraduates how plants have evolved from being water based algae to angiosperms over millions of years.

[Orla Sherwood]

Hi there, my name is Orla Sherwood and I am doing a PhD in plant biology based in the School of Biology and Environmental Sciences in University College Dublin (UCD), Ireland. I completed my BSc in biochemistry and molecular biology in UCD in 2017 and went on to do an MSc in science communication in Dublin City University where I looked at the how communication responsibility is reflected in job descriptions of university scientists for my thesis.

My PhD is focused on the genetic regulation of waterlogging tolerance traits in barley, one species which is important for the Irish agricultural economy. I specifically look at roots and how aerenchyma forms under waterlogged conditions to enable plant survival. This is of particular interest in an Irish climate where occurrences of extreme precipitation events are predicted to be more frequent in future climate scenarios associated with climate change impacts.

Thanks for reading and I’m looking forward to connecting with more people here who love plants!