Dr. John Day

Dr John Day is an entomologist and geneticist in the Molecular Ecology Group at UKCEH. He has been involved in the development and application of molecular diagnostics to a range of invertebrate studies. Formerly a scientist at both the Laboratory of the Government Chemist and the Natural History Museum, London, his research has included projects funded by Dstl, the Environment Agency, NERC and the Wellcome Trust. He has investigated: the genetic basis of bioluminescence in fireflies; molecular tools to study the population dynamics of Leishmania vectors in South America and the hematophagous behaviour of blackflies in Africa; the evaluation of a molecular-based approach to river invertebrate identification using DNA and the effect of habitat perturbation on RNA expression profiles in blackfly populations in UK rivers. Current and past PhD supervision include the use of microsatellites to assess butterfly population diversity and the genetics of mayflies of Chenobyl. He is currently involved in leading a project investigating the impact of light pollution on glow-worms and managing ODA work employing molecular diagnostics & DNA barcoding/metabarcoding to understand the dynamics and spread of tick-borne febrile disease in India.