Lucinda Robinson

Lucinda works in the Ecological Sciences department as a molecular microbiologist.  Lucinda joined the Institute in 2007 as a research assistant in the Molecular Microbiology lab. She initially worked in the Soils group preparing and analysing soil DNA for the National Soils Inventory of Scotland (NSIS), and then moved to the Ecological Sciences department in 2015.

Lucinda graduated in 1998 from Wye College University of London with a BSc (Hons) in Plant Sciences and worked in several commercial settings including novel fungicide testing (broadleaf crops), plant pathology field trials (cereals), and high throughput microsatellite selection of new wheat varieties.

Lucinda’s work predominantly covers semi-quantitative and qualitative assessment of the soil microbiome, utilising a variety of techniques such as real-time quantitative PCR (antimicrobial resistance genes and pathogen detection) and next generation sequencing (NGS) for metagenomic analysis. Other techniques used include multiplex terminal restriction fragment polymorphism analysis (m-TRFLP), microsatellite analysis, phospholipid fatty acid extract analysis (PLFA), and MicroResp™ (substrate-induced microbial respiration).  Lucinda also has expertise in the extraction of nucleic acids from a diverse range of samples including water, slurry, faeces, vegetative matter and animal tissue.

Alongside research activities, Lucinda assists with sales and technical support for the MicroResp™ kit.  More details about the kit and how to order it can be found on the MicroResp™ website: www.microresp.com [2].