Key details
Professor Patricia J Harvey
Professor of Biochemistry
Keywords
Bioenergy; biorefineries; metabolic pathways of cells; hyperoxidant states and stress responses; lignocellulosic degradation; proteins; fast reaction kinetics of redox enzymes.
Training
A plant biochemist with BSc and PhD degrees from the University of Durham. Thesis title: "Protein of Yam Tubers" (Rockefeller Foundation Scholarship, in conjunction with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture).
Industrial and academic research career
A post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Durham to purify restriction endonucleases was followed by 2 years at Genzyme Biochemicals in R&D, then in Business Development. She returned to academia to conduct research into the biochemistry of lignin breakdown for 10 years at Imperial College, where fundamental BBSRC- and EU-funded research on lignocellulosic plant biomass degradation and mechanistic studies of the enzyme lignin peroxidase with redox mediators led to a major breakthrough in understanding the mechanism of polymeric lignin breakdown by wood-degrading fungi. This research served as a spring board for research programmes centred on renewable bioenergy at the University of Greenwich (1993-date).
Current research themes embrace the use of algal and non-food plant systems for the capture of CO2; biorefinery production of green chemicals and biofuels; plant and fungal enzyme applications in treating lignocellulosic waste streams; plant oils for biodiesel manufacture; biomass crops from contaminated land; anaerobic digestion and thermochemical treatment of food and agricultural by-products for biomethane production; and Bioenergy Supply Chains. Several of these themes were developed during her at time at the Institute of Advanced Study at Durham University as Biofuels, Science and Society Fellow. They have been taken forward with projects such as:
- "Capacity-building in South Africa, Namibia and Ghana to create sustainable, non-food bio-oil supply chains (http://www.acp-nonfood.com/), an EU ACP S&T-funded project that targeted regional and local authorities, municipalities controlling sewage, water, involved in energy procurement programmes; community-based organisations; educational organisations; local authorities; non-governmental organisations; and researchers in Southern Africa (Namibia, South Africa) Western Africa (Ghana) and Europe (Italy, United Kingdom)
- Ecotec 21, an Interreg-funded project, which is driving the innovation for glycerol-CHP as a sustainable retrofit solution for low carbon power generation, energy efficiency and cultural change, and represents an unusual multi-school collaboration between Architecture; Engineering; Science; Business; Psychology, and Facilities Management
- Macrobiocrude, an EPSRC-funded project on macroalgae with UK universities;
- Engineering Micro-algae for Pharmaceutical Production - an ABSIG SPARK (TSB, NERC, BBSRC) –funded project with IOTA Pharmaceuticals;
- The CO2 Algal Biorefinery - The Microalgae biorefinery (D-Factory), an EU FP7 KBBE funded project with 13 partners from 8 countries.
- The Kent Biofuels Project which established an integrated process for the production of biodiesel from oilseed rape with 12 partners from bioenergy technology companies, the farming community, and CHP and fuel companies in Kent and saw the creation of an Electricity Supply Company (Cantium Energy), established with a loan from Finance South East to supply midi-scale CHP operated on renewable biofuel;
- The Zerowise Sustainable Food Waste Solutions Project, which addressed anaerobic digestion technologies for food wastes.
Prof Harvey is also the Director and founder of Biomed Online (www.biomedonline.co.uk). Established in 2002, Biomed Online comprises a successful programme of Master's level CPD courses delivered to the Healthcare sector.