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Dr Rakhee Dhorajiwala
Research Associate
School of Biosciences
Overview
I am a Postdoctoral Research Associate currently working with Prof. Peter Kille (Cardiff University), Prof. David Spurgeon (UKCEH), Dr Stephen Lofts (UKCEH) and Dr. Stephen Short (UKCEH) on the effects of metal toxicity on invertebrates, focusing on a interdisciplinary method combining metallomic, transcriptomic, and ecotoxicological approaches.
I started my career working on the stress response in plants - I did a Year in Professional Training with Prof. Hilary Rogers (Cardiff University) looking at the effects of cold storage on the aroma of fresh-cut strawberries during my degree (BSc Biochemistry). I went on to do a PhD with Prof. Hilary Rogers investigating the opening of lilies and improving development in commercially picked flowers, using genetic, physiological and biochemical techniques.
I am passionate about agricultural and environmental science and aim to continue working on understanding the genetic basis of stress responses and development through interdisciplinary methods.
Publication
2024
- Dhorajiwala, R., Beckmann, M., Dewitte, W., Stead, A. D., Devlin, P. F. and Rogers, H. J. 2024. Commercial processing of Oriental lilies affects bud opening and metabolic dynamics. Postharvest Biology and Technology 216, article number: 113063. (10.1016/j.postharvbio.2024.113063)
2023
- Baldwin, A. et al. 2023. Storage of halved strawberry fruits affects aroma, phytochemical content and gene expression, and is affected by pre-harvest factors. Frontiers in Plant Science 14, article number: 1165056. (10.3389/fpls.2023.1165056)
2022
- Dhorajiwala, R. 2022. How do lilies open? The regulation of flower opening in lilies, and how to control it to improve post-harvest quality. PhD Thesis, Cardiff University.
2021
- Dhorajiwala, R. et al. 2021. Storage of halved strawberry fruits affects aroma, phytochemical content and gene expression. Presented at: 9th International Strawberry Symposium (ISS2021), Rimini, Italy, 01 - 05 May 2021IX International Strawberry Symposium, Vol. 1309. International Society for Horticultural Science (ISHS), (10.17660/ActaHortic.2021.1309.127)
2019
- Spadafora, N. D. et al. 2019. A complex interaction between pre-harvest and post-harvest factors determines fresh-cut melon quality and aroma. Scientific Reports 9, article number: 2745. (10.1038/s41598-019-39196-0)
2018
- Amaro, A. L. et al. 2018. Multitrait analysis of fresh-cut cantaloupe melon enables discrimination between storage times and temperatures and identifies potential markers for quality assessments. Food Chemistry 241, pp. 222-231. (10.1016/j.foodchem.2017.08.050)
Articles
- Dhorajiwala, R., Beckmann, M., Dewitte, W., Stead, A. D., Devlin, P. F. and Rogers, H. J. 2024. Commercial processing of Oriental lilies affects bud opening and metabolic dynamics. Postharvest Biology and Technology 216, article number: 113063. (10.1016/j.postharvbio.2024.113063)
- Baldwin, A. et al. 2023. Storage of halved strawberry fruits affects aroma, phytochemical content and gene expression, and is affected by pre-harvest factors. Frontiers in Plant Science 14, article number: 1165056. (10.3389/fpls.2023.1165056)
- Spadafora, N. D. et al. 2019. A complex interaction between pre-harvest and post-harvest factors determines fresh-cut melon quality and aroma. Scientific Reports 9, article number: 2745. (10.1038/s41598-019-39196-0)
- Amaro, A. L. et al. 2018. Multitrait analysis of fresh-cut cantaloupe melon enables discrimination between storage times and temperatures and identifies potential markers for quality assessments. Food Chemistry 241, pp. 222-231. (10.1016/j.foodchem.2017.08.050)
Conferences
- Dhorajiwala, R. et al. 2021. Storage of halved strawberry fruits affects aroma, phytochemical content and gene expression. Presented at: 9th International Strawberry Symposium (ISS2021), Rimini, Italy, 01 - 05 May 2021IX International Strawberry Symposium, Vol. 1309. International Society for Horticultural Science (ISHS), (10.17660/ActaHortic.2021.1309.127)
Thesis
- Dhorajiwala, R. 2022. How do lilies open? The regulation of flower opening in lilies, and how to control it to improve post-harvest quality. PhD Thesis, Cardiff University.
Research
Plant science
I am highly interested in applied plant science, specifically looking at development and senescence in fresh-cut produce. I have over 5 years of experience working in this field and have experience using analytical chemistry (Gas chromatography-time of flight mass spectrometry (GC-MS) methods), biochemical, and transcriptomic methods (RNA-sequencing, qPCR) to investigate the genetic and physiological changes which underpin biological processes.
Environmental science
Another passion of mine is environmental science (metal pollution), where I have been working for almost 2 years. I use spectrometric methods such as Inductively-coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES), and laser-capture microdissection to analyse partitioning of metal across invertebrate tissues and cellular compartments and identify mechanisms behind it.
'Omics methods
My research has used many types of 'omics methods, from transcriptomics, to metabolomics and volatile organic compound (VOC) analysis. These are characterised by big data processing and analysis to pull out interesting trends and components using complex statistical methods.
Contact Details
Research themes
Specialisms
- Bioinformatics
- Biochemistry and cell biology
- Analytical chemistry
- Analytical spectrometry
- Genomics and transcriptomics