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Water Research Institute

Centre for Doctoral Training: Freshwater biosciences and sustainability

Explore the dynamic, co-designed research projects driven by FRESH postgraduate researchers.

Since 2018, the NERC GW4 Centre for Doctoral Training in Freshwater Biosciences and Sustainability (FRESH) has trained dozens of doctoral researchers across the GW4 universities. The programme has demonstrated the value of partnership-led doctoral training in addressing complex freshwater challenges. Bringing together expertise from the GW4 universities, the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, the British Geological Survey and a wide network of stakeholder organisations, FRESH embedded end-users throughout the research journey—from project design and student supervision to the application and dissemination of research outcomes. This collaborative approach has produced 33 doctoral graduates, generated impactful science for the freshwater sector, and created a lasting legacy through a network of graduates who now contribute across academia, government, industry, water companies and environmental organisations.

The FRESH model: Partnership from design to impact

A defining feature of the FRESH CDT was the integration of stakeholders throughout the doctoral research process.

Partner organisations helped identify research needs, co-developed projects, contributed to supervisory teams and supported the translation of findings into policy and practice. This model ensured that research addressed real-world challenges while enabling students to develop the collaborative skills, sector awareness and professional networks needed for future careers.

Legacy and outcomes

  • Interdisciplinary doctoral training across the GW4 partnership and national research institutes.
  • Over 25 stakeholder organisations, including Wessex Water, the Environment Agency, and Public Health Wales.
  • Research addressing major freshwater challenges, including biodiversity loss, water quality, climate change, environmental monitoring and public health.
  • Graduates progressing into careers across academia, government, industry and the third sector.
  • Long-term partnerships and networks that continue to support freshwater research and innovation.

Research portfolio

The projects below illustrate the breadth of research undertaken through FRESH and the diversity of stakeholder partnerships that contributed to project design, delivery and impact.
PhD researcherProject titleHome institutionStakeholder partner
Inge Elfferich

Optimising water quality monitoring to understand biogeochemical processes in UK rivers and reservoirs (2024).

Cardiff UniversityDŵr Cymru Welsh Water
Claire RobertsonBeyond the surface: Enhancing freshwater pond ecosystem assessment through eDNA metabarcoding (2024)UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology; Cardiff UniversityFreshwater Habitats Trust
Agnethe OlsenComputer vision in wildlife disease surveillance (2025).Cardiff UniversityWye & Usk Foundation
Daniel McDowellOne man's meat is another's poison: Exploring the effect of trematode perturbation on an aquatic community (2024)Cardiff UniversityNatural History Museum
Ben McClayCascading effects of micro- and nano-plastics on lipid quality and transfer through freshwater planktonic ecosystemsCardiff UniversityCardiff Harbour Authority
Kosta ManserThe electric ecology of freshwater with a special focus on the isopod Asellus aquaticus and some freshwater invertebrates of Costa Rica (2025).University of Bristol 
Harry LayfieldDiversity and Speciation of Invertebrates in Freshwater Habitats (2024)University of BristolDepartment of Fisheries, Republic of Malawi
Joshua RainbowIntegrated Biosensor Platform for Detection of Waterborne Pathogens: Improving Public Health (2023)University of BathPublic Health England
Tomo HomanSupporting river water-quality management by high-resolution modelling: a case study in a lowland permeable chalk catchment (2025).University of BathWessex Water
Laura HayesCryptosporidium movement in water- impact of eutrophication and climate change on the zoonotic disease agentCardiff UniversityPublic Health Wales
Jack GreenhalghDeveloping two non-invasive survey techniques for freshwater ecosystems: Environmental DNA and ecoacoustics (2022) University of BristolApplied Genomics
Rory BurfordOf Metals and Matter: Biogeochemical impacts of acid rock drainage on glacial rivers in the Cordillera Blanca, Peru (2024)University of BristolGlobal Challenges Research Fund
Costanza ZanghìThe combined effects of multiple environmental stressors on predator-prey interactions in freshwater habitats (2024)University of BristolFreshwater Habitats Trust
Emma PharaohLong-term trends in aquatic invertebrates indicate river health in England and Wales (2023)Cardiff UniversityNatural Resources Wales; Environment Agency
Duncan O'BrienComplexity and regime shifts: testing the predictability of ecosystem transitions (2024)University of BristolState of Israel Water Authority
Luke LearThe ecology and evolution of bacterial virulence (2022)University of ExeterEnvironment Agency
April HayesInvestigating selection for antimicrobial resistance by non-antibiotic drugs in microbial communities (2023)University of ExeterAstraZeneca
Elliot DruceFreshwater Picocyanobacteria and their Organic Diet: An Investigation into Organic Nitrogen Assimilation in Freshwater Picocyanobacteria (2023)University of BristolNatural England
Toby ChampneysThe Role Of Behavioural Mechanisms In The Invasion Success And Impact Of Nile Tilapia (Oreochromis Niloticus) In Tanzania (2023)University of BristolGlobal Challenges Research Fund
Hebe CarmichaelGaining Mechanistic Insights into multiple stressor effects using freshwater microbial communities (2024)University of ExeterFreshwater habitats Trust
Ashley BellComposition, diversity and response dynamics of fish skin microbiomes under environmental stress, including antibiotic exposure (2024)University of ExeterCefas
Daniel OsmondAdapting to life in metal polluted rivers: implications for conservation, genetic diversity and fisheries management in the brown trout (Salmo trutta) (2024)University of ExeterWestcountry Rivers Trust; Wildlife Conservation Trust
Victoria HusseyInvestigating Nutrient Cycling, Retention and Bioavailability of Effluents Discharged from Constructed Wetlands: Optimising Wetland Management to Reduce Emerging Risks to Freshwaters (2025)University of BristolBritish Geological Survey; Wessex Water
Katharine MossUnderstanding the ecological role of organic matter in urban freshwatersUK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology; University of BristolThames21
Fin Ring-HrubeshMicrobial responses to physico-chemical alterations during peatland restoration (2025)University of BristolBrecon Beacons National Park
Chris WebbDetermining nutrient fluxes and sources driving lowland drinking water reservoir ecosystem response (2024)University of BristolBristol Water
Annalise HooperEnvironmental triggers for geosmin and 2-MIB production in drinking water reservoirs (2023)Cardiff UniversityDŵr Cymru Welsh Water
Guglielmo Sonnino SorisioThe effect of manipulated flows on fish kinematics and behaviour at migratory barriers (2025)Cardiff UniversityEnvironment Agency
Fiona JoyceEffects of land use on the resilience of stream invertebrates to climate change (2023)Cardiff UniversityForest Research; Woodland Trust
Damiano DuciTalking Algae: an early warning system for water equality threatsUniversity of BathWessex Water
Emma VaughanConstructed wetlands as a nature-based treatment solution for emerging contaminants in wastewater: chemical fate and ecotoxicological impacts (2025)University of BathWessex Water
Kye DaviesQuantifying the impact of beaver reintroduction on aquatic ecologyUniversity of ExeterDevon Wildlife Trust
Franciszek BydałekThe microbial ecology and fate of pathogens in constructed wetlands (2023)University of BathWessex Water
Gareth BradburyBeaver wetlands mediate diffuse water pollution in agriculturally dominated catchments (2025)University of ExeterNational Trust