Lancaster University Research

Lancaster is a high quality, research intensive university which is committed to pursuing international research at the highest level.

Latest publications

1. Calcium dependence of Eugenol tolerance and toxicity in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

   Roberts, S., McAinsh, M., Cantopher, H. & Sandison, S. 18/07/2014 In : PLoS ONE. 9, 7, 8 p.e102712

   Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article

2. Cannabinoid-induced autophagy regulates suppressor of cytokine signaling (SOCS)-3 in intestinal epithelium

   Koay, L., Rigby, R. & Wright, K. 15/07/2014 In : American Journal of Physiology-Gastrointestinal and Liver Physiology. 307, p. G140-G148 9 p.

   Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article

3. A unified method for calculating fire resistance of solid and hollow concrete-filled steel tube columns based on average temperature

   Yu, M., Zha, X. & Ye, J. 15/07/2014 In : Engineering structures. 71, p. 12-22 11 p.

   Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article

4. Predictors of health care use among patients with or at high risk of atherothrombotic disease: two-year follow-up data

   REACH Registry Investigators 15/07/2014 In : International Journal of Cardiology. 175, 1, p. 72-77 6 p.

   Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article

5. Self-catalysed growth of InAs nanowires on bare Si substrates by droplet epitaxy

   Anyebe, E., Zhuang, Q., Sanchez, A. M., Lawson, S., Robson, A., Ponomarenko, L. A., Zhukov, A. & Kolosov, O. 11/07/2014 In : physica status solidi : Rapid Research Letters. 8, 7, p. 658–662 5 p.

   Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article

6. Language, space and mind: the conceptual geometry of linguistic meaning

   Chilton, P. 10/07/2014 Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 325 p.

   Research output: Book/Report/Proceedings › Monograph

View all »

Latest news

1. Give instant feedback on council maintenance

   Members of the public are being asked to use their smart phones to comment on roadworks and flooding in a pilot project to impr...

2. Lancaster leads the way in cyber security bursa...

   Lancaster is one of four UK universities selected to take part in an ‘industry first’ sponsorship initiative encouraging studen...

3. The World Around Me opens up new world

   A former Lancaster University student, who now runs his own business from Lancaster Environment Centre, has developed an applic...

4. New Palestinian Prime Minister studied at Lanca...

   A former Lancaster University PhD student, appointed the new Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority this week, is describe...

5. Cyber scaremongering isn’t working claim small ...

   A new Security Lancaster report has identified market failures that key stakeholders need to address to support the small busin...

6. Insight into the UK’s biggest killer

   Researchers at Lancaster University have been studying how the cardiovascular system alters as we grow older.

Recently added publications

1. Professor Ken Wilson

   • Lancaster Environment Centre - Professor

   Affiliations

   • Centre for Global Eco-innovation
   • Ecology and Conservation
   • Understanding a changing planet
   • Improving global stewardship
   • Innovation for a better environment
   • Plant and Crop Science

   

   The times they are a-changin’: evolution and revolution in animal ecology publishing

   Wilson, K. 01/2014 In : Journal of Animal Ecology. 83, 1, p. 1-4 4 p.

   Research output: Contribution to journal › Editorial

   My research interests include:

    

   Ken is fascinated by the interactions between parasites and their hosts, be they insects, birds, mammals or humans. He is particularly interested in how hosts and parasites evolve strategies to out-compete each other, and the impact of the environment on the ecology of the host-parasite interaction.

   He has spent much of the last 20 years working in Africa, studying aspects of insect crop pest control and especially the use of parasites, such as baculoviruses, as biological pest control agents.

    

   Published research

   Ken has published over 100 papers and book chapters (see link above), including papers in leading journals such as Nature and Science.

   His most recent work is trying to understand the role of nutrition in determining who ‘wins’ when parasites infect hosts, using insects and their bacteria or viruses as model systems. This work was highlighted as part of the BBSRC’s 20th anniversary celebrations. He is also trying to develop the theory underpinning these interactions and exploring the influence that the gut ‘microbiome’ has on them – for a recent review, click here.          

   Ken’s work is also seeking to apply this work to problems of applied relevance, especially the biological control of insect crop pests in Africa. In particular, he is working with collaborators in the UK and Tanzania to use a natural and safe baculovirus for the biocontrol of the African armyworm, a major caterpillar pest of staple cereal crops in Africa. Here is a link to a video blog Ken made on a recent research visit to Zambia in collaboration with the BBSRC.

   Ken has received funding for his work from:

   • the National Environmental Research Council (NERC),
   • the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)
   • the Department for International Development (DFID)
   • the Royal Society (RS)

    

   Current research

   Ken’s current research projects include

   • A BBSRC-funded project exploring the role of nutrition in determining the outcome of bacterial      infections in insects
   • A BBSRC-funded China Partnering Award exploring ‘agri-bioscience for sustainable food security’
   • An ARC Discovery Project integrating aspects of nutrition, parasitism and gut microbiome on immunity in Drosophila flies in collaboration with Prof Steve Simpson and Dr Fleur Ponton at the University of Sydney, Australia.

   He is a member of the Ecology and Conservation research group. His PhD students study a diverse range of topics that broadly fall under the themes of host-pathogen interactions and/or agro-ecology. Current projects include: the interactions between parasitism and migration in insect crop pests; the importance of micronutrients to crop pest resistance to biopesticides; effects of a novel nematocide on plant growth and non-target organisms; the nutritional, floral and microbial composition of bee bread in honey bee hives; beekeepers and beekeeping; the microbial community of blue tits.

    

   Roles

   Ken is currently:

   • Executive Editor of the British Ecological Society’s Journal of Animal Ecology
   • Core panel member for NERC
   • Member of the Society of Biology’s Research Dissemination Committee
   • Chair of the British Ecological Society’s Parasites & Pathogens: Ecology & Evolution Special Interest Group Funding Advisory Board

    

   Teaching

   Ken’s teaching includes:

   • Lecturing population biology to undergraduate students as part of the LEC BSc degree schemes in Biology and Ecology
   • Lecturing to Master’s level students studying Wildlife Population Ecology on LEC’s MSc in Ecology and Conservation
   • Contributing to a Massive Open Online course in Food Security

   Related content

   See Ken’s video blog on chasing African armyworm in Zambia

   Ken manages a website about African armyworm, its impact and biocontrol called Armyworm Network

   Ken's website: http://www.lancs.ac.uk/staff/wilsonk4/

   Show more...Show less

Media Experts