Dr Virginia Harvey
Senior Lecturer
Biography
Dr Virginia Harvey is a zoologist who harnesses modern and archaeological data to capture how humans have impacted our planet through time and into the modern day. She specialises in analysing preserved proteins and DNA from modern and ancient tissues to unlock species identification, with a particular interest in fishes and other aquatic vertebrates.
Teaching and Supervision
Virginia teaches a range of subjects, from genetics and evolution, to wildlife crime and conservation. She teaches both undergraduate and Master's level students. Virginia is interested in hearing from undergraduate and prospective postgraduate students (MSc, MRes, MPhil, PhD) about opportunities to study protein or DNA analysis and its application to wildlife forensics and conservation.
Research and Knowledge Exchange
Virginia's current research focusses on the development of biomolecular tools, such as protein and DNA analysis, in identifying and tracing animal products, with a particular interest in wildlife crime, food fraud and invasive species monitoring. Virginia has worked as a postdoctoral researcher at The University of York where she specialised in ancient biomolecule extraction and analysis from archaeological artefacts. Here, she explored protein extraction and analysis techniques to find ways of minimising sample destruction, whilst maximising protein yield. Previous to this, she completed an MPhil and a PhD at the University of Manchester where her research addressed the use of biomolecular methods in the study of human impacts on biodiversity through time, focussing on both terrestrial and aquatic species.