Daniel Henk

Dr. Daniel Henk is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Life Sciences at the University of Bath, affiliated with the Milner Centre for Evolution and the Centre for Mathematical Biology. His research focuses on fungal ecology and evolution, leveraging genomics to study fungal biodiversity and genomic responses to environmental pressures. He leads projects on antimicrobial production in fungal endophytes, biofuel production from lignocellulosic feedstocks, and mycelium-based sustainable materials.

Key research areas include:

• Environmental fungal communities in ecosystems and human contexts
• Genetic mechanisms driving fungal adaptation to biotic/abiotic stressors
• Applications in sustainable materials (mycelium composites) and probiotic development

Recent work emphasizes interdisciplinary approaches, such as using FTIR spectroscopy for material degradation analysis and metabolic modeling of poultry microbiomes. His projects are funded by Innovate UK, Historic England, and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council.

Advising and grants include leadership roles in six active projects, including the CFG Scale-up initiative for low-emission yeast technology and DNA-based identification of historic plaster degraders. Collaborations span environmental science, engineering, and conservation sectors.