Overview
Profile summary
Lecturer in Plant Biosciences and BSc Biological Sciences programme leader
I am a plant ecophysiologist, with a focus on crops, especially cereals. I am interested in how plants behave when challenged by abiotic stresses like drought, heat or soil salinity in the agricultural fields where those plants are cultivated, as opposed to artificial laboratory conditions. The purpose of my research is to help mitigate the effect of those stresses on food production, under the increasing threat of climate change. My research is built around three main objectives:
- Provide evidence of the profound effects of artificial experimental settings on the outcome of research into plant abiotic stress responses;
- Identify experimental conditions that optimise the translation of results of abiotic stress physiology studies to the field;
- Model plant responses to complex abiotic conditions in realistic settings
Teaching interests
BIOL119Z Introduction to BiologyBIOL130Z Biological Sciences Field Biology
BIOL133Z Principles of Physiology
BIOL233Z Biological Sciences Field Course
BIOL235Z Plant Ecophysiology (module leader)
BIOL301Z Plant Biotechnology
BIOL321Z Pharmacalogy and Natural Products
BIO5131 Postgraduate Skills and Methods
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
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SDG 2 Zero Hunger -
SDG 13 Climate Action
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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
Research output
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A manifesto for plant science education
Alvey, E., Paterlini, A., Williams, M. E., Cerfonteyn, M. E., Dobbie, S., Dodsworth, S., Dunbar, S. D., Headland, L. R., Kolesnikova, A., Kumar, P., Manrique, S., Mansfield, C., Stroud, S., Woodhouse, S., Ashton, H., Benitez-Alfonso, Y., Breeze, E., Byers, K. J. R. P., Chetariya, C. P. & Dyson, B. C. & 23 others, , 1 Mar 2026, In: Plants People Planet. 8, 2, p. 422-432 11 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Comment/debate
Open AccessFile1 Downloads (Pure) -
Determining the accumulation potential of nanoplastics in crops: An investigation of 14C-labelled polystyrene nanoplastic into radishes
Clark, N. J., Fischer, A. C., Carne, D., Littlejohn, G. R., Durndell, L. J., Plessis, A. & Thompson, R. C., 1 Nov 2025, In: Environmental Research. 284, 122687.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile3 Downloads (Pure) -
Investigating the potential for first year residential field courses to facilitate the establishment of teacher-student relationships in biological sciences undergraduate degrees
Plessis, A. & Stokes, A., 29 Nov 2025, (Accepted) In: Research in Post-Compulsory Education.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Is My Stress Out of Place? Bread Wheat Response to Saline Stress Varies in Pattern and Extent Across Experimental Settings
Plessis, A., 2 Jul 2025, In: Plant Direct. 9, 7, e70088.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile5 Downloads (Pure) -
Abiotic stress experiments need a reality check to improve translation to the field
Plessis, A., 10 Jan 2023, In: Journal of Experimental Botany. 0, 0Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile23 Downloads (Pure)
Datasets
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Bread wheat response to saline stress across four experimental settings
Plessis, A. (Creator), ZENODO, 23 Nov 2024
DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.14210102, https://zenodo.org/records/14210102
Dataset