Ian Eggington | The Horsfall Group

Hi, My name is Ian Eggington and I am a postdoc in the Horsfall lab.

I did my undergrad at the University of Aberdeen in Biomedical Science (Molecular Biology) and undertook my PhD part time at the University of Edinburgh in Synthetic Biology. I am now in my first postdoc position where I am utilising my skills in molecular biology while actively developing new skills to explore, learn, and contribute to the success of our lab. I also greatly enjoy public outreach and have held several fun science sessions for the beavers (cub scouts) and a local primary school or two. Outside of the lab, I enjoy spending time with my family, indulging in the odd video game or two, and tackling ambitious DIY projects at home, which I find is a great way to unwind and keep my problem-solving skills active.

Public Abstract

I am a part of the RECREATE project (REcycling CRitical Elements in Advanced Technologies for the Environment). This project aims to improve upon the recycling of technology critical metals from sources such as magnets or the ever more present rechargeable batteries, to lead towards a more circular economy, where waste is minimised to reduce reliance on mining and trading. My contribution as a biologist is to focus on the small – to help to plug the tiny leaks in the circular economy model – to use bacteria to recover or recycle metals from waste that would otherwise be too fiddly or not cost effective to recover.

Scientific Abstract

I am a part of the RECREATE project (REcycling CRitical Elements in Advanced Technologies for the Environment). This project is targeting critical materials such as rare earth elements and platinum group metals from recycling sources such as waste magnets and lithium-ion batteries. As greener technologies advance, the demand for rare earth elements is only increasing, and as a result the criticality will increase. The RECREATE project aims toward a more circular economy, relying less on supply and instead reuse of these materials. I am exploring the capacity of bacteria, often anaerobic, to reduce and recover these elements, and investigating their limitations, and subsequently potential for improvements. To do this I am exploring alternative terminal electron acceptors, developing and refining genomic tools for the non-model organisms, and analysing metal recovery and any nanoparticles the bacteria make using ICP-OES and TEM.