About
Doreen is leading the molecular work in the School of Geography and Environmental Science. Her research focuses on reconstructing past environments using sediments, peat, and paleosols, as well as assessing contemporary biodiversity and its response to environmental changes.
Research
Research groups
Research interests
- 1. Understanding of vegetation response in boreal and arctic regions in Holocene to environmental change
- 2. Impact of human activities on soil fauna diversity
- 3. Carbon storage in mineral soils and soil carbon biochemistry
- 4. Soil pollution and remediation
Current research
Dr Huang’s research has recently focused on ancient DNA (aDNA) extractions from difficult environmental samples and reconstructing past environments using sedimentary ancient DNA (sedaDNA) from pre-Holocene glacial deposits, Holocene lake sediments and paleosols. She is particularly interested in the long-term changes of vegetation and species migration in Scandinavia and Iceland in response to climate change and human activities. She is also interested in the application of modern environmental DNA (eDNA) for studying species invasion and biodiversity in the warming arctic.
Publications
Teaching
GGES1005 The Earth System: process and change
GGES2011 Global Climate Change: Science, impacts and policy
Introduction to Pollution
Applications of eDNA/sedaDNA for (paleo-)ecological studies
Biography
Dr Doreen Huang is an environmental scientist interested in both biogeochemistry and environmental changes over periods of centuries to millenniums. Dr. Huang has extensive experience with advanced analytical techniques, including synchrotron-based analyses (XANES and X-ray microscopy), as well as ancient DNA analyses. During her time as a postdoctoral fellow, she established the dedicated ancient DNA lab at Umeå University in Sweden. Dr. Huang has developed protocols and laboratory settings for sedimentary ancient DNA analysis. She is currently engaged in ongoing projects at the University of Southampton.
Education and training
Visiting Scholar (Soil Science), North Carolina State University, USA 2009
PhD (Earth Sciences), University of Waikato, NZ 2016
Postdoc Fellow (Ecology and Environmental Science), Umeå University, Sweden 2015-2023
Visiting Researcher (Geography), Newcastle University, UK 2021-2022