Maya Subberwal

Research title: Understanding the impact of sustainable agricultural practices on crop development by focusing on microbial ecology and the exposome

Research Summary

As an ecologist, my work primarily centers around investigating the interactions between organisms and their host environment. During my PhD research, I have focused on the dynamics of microbial communities in agricultural soils, studying the relationship between soil health and sustainable agricultural practices. My interest in soil health stems from a deep connection with the land, and my strongly held belief that food security starts within the soil.

Our global agricultural systems are extractive and oftentimes at odds with natural systems, my work aims to bridge that gap and provide novel insights into the effects of agricultural practices on the health of our agroecological systems. My research aims to build on the current mechanistic understanding of our food production systems, contributing to understanding of the microbiological processes by which ecosystems function.

My work extends beyond pure microbial ecology, interfacing food security and ecosystem resilience with statistics and computational biology. I am particularly interested in the application of these findings to create tangible improvements in agricultural sustainability, bridging the gap between scientific understanding and practical implementation. I am looking forward to further investigating the effects of agricultural practices on key microbial soil health indicators.

Connect with me!

Publications

Subberwal, Maya and Giles, Maddy and Neilson, Roy and Roberts, Dave and Caul, Sandra and Mitchell, Susan and Ijazd, Umer, Microbial Ecology of Agricultural Soils with Organic Amendments. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.5101570 [Preprint.]

Supervisors

External supervisors

Dr Maddy Giles - James Hutton Institute, Dundee

Dr Ashleigh Holmes - James Hutton Institute, Dundee

Dr Cathy Hawes - James Hutton Institute, Dundee

Conferences

Date

Event

20/07/2024

Invited speaker “From farm to microbe: Influence of organic amendments and soil texture on the soil microbiome”, 1stInternational Symposium on “Applications of OMICs in Health and Disease” 2024 (COMSATS University Islamabad & University of Glasgow)

This event received over 200 registered participants from 12 countries including UK, Germany, Italy, China, South Africa, Thailand, Portugal, Cameroon, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Tunisia and Pakistan

10/02/2025

Poster presentation “The soil microbiome – can we use to monitor and predict soil health and function?”, co-author, presented at SEFARI Healthy Soils Event by Dr Madeline Giles

07/05/2025

Podium presentation “ML in Microbial Ecology: EQO – Can we predict microbial community structure?”, Elevator Pitch Showcase hosted by Machine Learning in Science, associated with the Centre for Data Science and AI, University of Glasgow

19/05/2025

Podium presentation “From Farm to Microbe: Applications of Genomics for Soil Health”, Infrastructure and Environment Department Research Day, hosted by the University of Glasgow

 

Teaching

Mentorship - James Watt School of Engineering, University of Glasgow
  • ENG5044 – Integrated System Design Project mentor 2025: successfully guided MSc student teams to meet project deadlines, facilitated effective team collaboration and resolved dynamic challenges within MSc student groups. Key contact between students and Academic Leads.
  • ENG2077 – Creativity 2 Event 2025 mentor: part of mentorship team for over 500 BSc students over 1 week, involved in organising the event and resolving problems within groups, supervision and assessment of the final student posters.
  • ENG2077 – Creativity 2 Event 2024 mentor: part of mentorship team for over 500 BSc students over 1 week, supervised and guided students through challenges and assessed final student oral presentations.

Undergraduate Teaching Assistant - University of Glasgow
  • ENG1031 – Introduction to Biomedical Engineering teaching assistant 2023: lab assistant, aided students in completion of the practical tutorial using wet lab skills.
Exam Invigilator - University of Glasgow
  • ENG2079 – Civil Engineering Skills 2 exam invigilator 2025: assisted BEng/BSc students with running python code in Jupyter Notebooks and ensured a smooth experience for both students and academics.
  • ENG5322 – Engineering Skills exam invigilator 2024: assisted MSc students with running python in Jupyter Notebooks and ensured a smooth experience.