Emma Ransome

Emma Ransome is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Life Sciences at Imperial College London, affiliated with the Georgina Mace Centre for the Living Planet, Grantham Institute, and Ring of Fire. Her research focuses on microbial ecology, global change, and environmental solutions, particularly in aquatic ecosystems. She explores microbial community roles in ecosystem services and anthropogenic impacts, leveraging multi-omics, field surveys, and experiments. Her lab collaborates widely, including with the Ocean Conservation Trust and KAUST.

Key research interests include microbial responses to climate change, seagrass restoration, coral reef biodiversity, and viral ecology. Recent work addresses SARS-CoV-2 environmental transmission, bat virology, and sewage surveillance. Funding includes grants from the Leverhulme Centre, SSCP DTP, and UREN Foundation.

• Grants: Leverhulme Centre for the Holobiont, SSCP DTP seagrass project, UREN Foundation (Take-all disease suppression).
• Advising: PhD students Luke Herring (coral reef cryptobiome) and Amelia Newman (seagrass microbiology).

Her lab’s FutureReef project investigates coral reef holobionts, while the SimpleMetaPipeline toolstreamlines metabarcoding analysis. Recent recognitions include a Challenger Society commendation for undergraduate research and media coverage of Defra biodiversity reports.