Elizabete Carmo-SilvaView profile
Professor
Professor Elizabete Carmo-Silva is a leading expert in crop physiology at Lancaster University's Lancaster Environment Centre. She specializes in the regulation of carbon assimilation by Rubisco in crop plants, particularly wheat and cowpea, with research focused on improving photosynthetic efficiency to enhance agricultural sustainability and climate resilience. Her research interests center on photosynthesis, Rubisco regulation, and sustainable agriculture. She leads a research team investigating how to optimize photosynthetic processes to improve crop yields under environmental stress conditions including heat, drought, and fluctuating light. Her work bridges fundamental plant biochemistry with practical crop improvement strategies to address food security challenges. Professor Carmo-Silva's publication record demonstrates consistent contributions to understanding Rubisco regulation, photosynthetic efficiency, and crop adaptation. Her recent work has focused on Rubisco activase isoforms, thermotolerance mechanisms, and developing methodologies for measuring photosynthetic parameters. Her research has significant implications for breeding crops with improved resource use efficiency and climate resilience. Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology (2022) LEAF accreditation for Rubisco lab Handling Editor for Journal of Experimental Botany (2021-present) She actively supervises four PhD students and leads a multidisciplinary research team working on major projects including RIPE, CAPITALISE, PhotoBoost, and Delivering Sustainable Wheat. Professor Carmo-Silva also contributes to teaching through the Research Design and Delivery course, Biology and Ecology & Conservation programmes, and serves as Director of LEC Postgraduate Research Programmes and Lancaster academic lead for UKRI NorthWestBio Doctoral Programme.






