Thomas McNeil

Contact

Thomas McNeil
Doctoral Researcher

Molecular Ecology Group
Department of Community Ecology

Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ
Theodor-Lieser-Str. 4, 06120 Halle (Saale)

Tel: 0341 60253772
thomas.mcneil@ufz.de


Thomas

Scientific Career

2013 - 2018

BSc - Microbiology
University of Victoria, Canada

2022 - 2023

MSc - Environmental Pollution
University of Reading, United Kingdom
Thesis: The relationship of oak decline with nutrient dynamics and soil food webs in a UK temperate woodland

2023 - 2024

Research Assistant | Land Use and Ecosystem Services Group
Forest Research, Farnham, United Kingdom

2024 - Present

Doctoral Researcher | Department of Community Ecology
Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ
Halle, Germany

Research interests

  • Microbial ecology
  • Forest ecology
  • Plant-microbe interactions
  • Plant-soil feedback
  • Microbial functional potential
  • Environmental drivers of soil microbial communities
  • Biodiversity and ecosystem functioning relationships

Projects
Logo

TreeDì - 林地 - TreeDiversity Interactions: The role of tree-tree interactions in local neighbourhoods in Chinese subtropical forests

My TreeDi sub-project (P7G) explores the role of shrubs as mediators of tree-tree interactions, focusing on the shrub rhizosphere and interaction zone microbiota across tree diversity gradients. We are using next generation sequencing to uncover the impact of plant identity, tree diversity, and other biotic and abiotic variables in shaping soil microbial communities, co-occurence networks, and functional gene profiles.