Dr. Kamila Kwasniewska

Teaching Fellow, Botany

Biography

Kamila Kwasniewska is a Teaching Fellow in the Discipline of Botany at Trinity College Dublin. Her work combines plant science, ecology, education and public engagement, with a particular interest in translating research into practical applications that benefit both society and the environment.
Her expertise spans research commercialisation, ERC Proof of Concept projects, citizen science, science communication and the management of large interdisciplinary research programmes. She has developed innovative tools for controlled environment research, designed and delivered public engagement initiatives, and worked extensively at the interface of academia, industry and community stakeholders.
More recently, Kamila's research has expanded into the relationship between nature and human health. She investigates how nature-based interventions can support mental wellbeing while fostering stronger relationships between people and the natural world. Alongside her scientific research, she is interested in interdisciplinary collaborations that bring together ecology, art and environmental storytelling to engage diverse audiences with biodiversity and climate change.
Kamila completed her PhD in Plant Developmental Genetics at Trinity College Dublin, following studies in Biology and Botany at the University of Wrocław, Poland. Since then, she has worked across research, teaching and innovation, combining scientific expertise with a strong commitment to education, collaboration and public engagement.

Kamila graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Biology from the University of Wroclaw, Poland in 2006 and continued with a Master's studies in the field of Botany, which she completed in 2008. She focused on studying the absorption of mineral forms of nitrogen and expression of genes encoding high-affinity transporters in Arabidopsis thaliana. After arriving in Ireland, she undertook a research assistant position in the Plant Developmental Genetics Laboratory at Trinity College Dublin, the University of Dublin in 2011. At the same time, she was an external student of Molecular Biology at the Jagiellonian University in Poland. In 2012, she commenced a Ph.D. in the Trinity’s Smurfit Institute with Prof. Wellmer’s, during which she investigated the novel functions of a transcription factor responsible for terminating the floral meristem activity in Arabidopsis thaliana.

In 2017 she took up the ERC Proof of Concept Post-doctoral position with Prof. McElwain’s at the Discipline of Botany, Trinity. During this research project she worked on the development and commercialization of the first plant-based sensor kit for the standardization and calibration of controlled environment chambers. Following the research commercialization project, she took part in the Tephra Bag Citizen Science Experiment, funded by iCRAG. This project focused on development of a ‘volcanic ash teabag kit’ for a pilot experiment that was carried out by the general public. The project aimed at collecting data on chemical weathering of volcanic ash, as a new negative carbon emission technology and engaging with the members of the public and educating citizens on the possible reduction of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

Current Research:

Her current research project funded by the Arts Council Ireland is an art-science collaboration, focusing on the fascinating world of lichens as indicators of air quality. The project will explore how art can attune our attention to subtle changes in our environment and can cultivate observations, instincts and insights developed through our unique position within the natural world, and how these can complement scientific understandings of climate change and biodiversity crisis.

Contact

email: kkwasnie@tcd.ie

ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Kamila-Kwasniewska