Dr Islam Sobhy
Lecturer
Biography
Dr. Islam Sobhy is currently a Lecturer in Zoology at the School of Natural Sciences, University of Chester, and also holds an Honorary Lectureship at the School of Biosciences, Cardiff University. His research focuses on plant-microbe-insect interactions, chemical ecology, and sustainable crop protection. Dr Sobhy previously served as Lecturer in Plant Ecology at the School of Biosciences, Cardiff University (2023–2025), where he combined an active research programme with teaching across multiple ecology and plant science modules. During this time, he supervised MSc and PhD students, led field courses and final-year research projects, contributed to academic administration, and completed the CUEFP, achieving Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA). Prior to this role, he worked as a Research Associate at Cardiff University, investigating mosquito feeding behaviour using innovative sugar-feeding systems. Before that, he was a Research Associate in chemical ecology at Keele University (2018), collaborating with icipe (Kenya) to advance “push–pull” companion planting strategies for managing the invasive fall armyworm in Sub-Saharan Africa. In 2016, at KU Leuven (Belgium), he expanded his expertise to include nectar-associated microbes, demonstrating that volatile compounds produced by nectar yeasts strongly influence pollinator foraging behaviour. In 2013, as a JSPS Postdoctoral Fellow at Okayama University (Japan), he examined inducible defence traits in rice and sorghum against lepidopteran pests. In 2012, he received a Rothamsted International Fellowship to continue research as postdoc on the plant elicitor cis-jasmone and its role in inducing potato defences. Dr Sobhy completed his PhD in Entomology (Chemical Ecology) through a collaborative channel programme between the University of Neuchâtel (Switzerland) and Suez Canal University (Egypt). His doctoral work showed that applying chemical elicitors can enhance maize attractiveness to parasitoids. He holds an MSc in Entomology (Biological Control) from Suez Canal University.
Teaching and Supervision
Dr Sobhy serves as the module leader for BI6193 – Public Health, Surveillance and Disease Control. He also contributes to other modules, including BI6110 – Dissertation, BI7136 – Research Dissertation, and NS4001 – Life of Sciences, where he teaches students various aspects of zoology, entomology, ecology, and animal behaviour within the Animal Behaviour and Animal Behaviour & Welfare degree programmes. He is also very receptive to supervising additional postgraduate students in the future. Dr Sobhy’s teaching philosophy is grounded in the belief that education should be dynamic, inclusive, and student-centred, equipping learners with both theoretical knowledge and practical skills to succeed academically and professionally.
Research and Knowledge Exchange
Dr Sobhy’s research focuses on insect–plant–microbe interactions (IPMI), with particular emphasis on chemical ecology, induced plant defence, and sustainable crop protection. He is especially interested in the defensive roles of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted by plants and their associated microbiomes. By integrating approaches from entomology, behavioural ecology, microbiology, plant biology, analytical chemistry, molecular biology, and multivariate statistics, he investigates the VOC profiles of plants and microbes, the abiotic and biotic factors that shape these emissions, and how these chemical cues influence the behaviour of insects across trophic levels. Ultimately, his goal is to better understand the underlying mechanisms of VOC-mediated IPMI and to translate this knowledge into ecologically benign, environmentally friendly, and cost-effective interventions for protecting crops from insect pests, which are key constraints to global food security.