Sheila Alves

Research Officer - Minor Crops Agronomy & Alternative Markets

Research Interests

Minor and alternative crops and markets (Ireland): agronomy, physiology, phenology, grain quality; grain profile for feed and food.
Protein crops: faba beans, field peas and lupins agronomy, sustainability (benefits in cereal rotations, lower inputs, intercropping) and resilience (biotic and abiotic stresses).
Food safety: metals in crop-soil systems, anti-nutrients in crops.

Online profiles:

ORCID: 0000-0003-1129-7498; Web of Science Researcher ID: C-1522-2010; Scopus Author ID: 10939266100.

Current Projects

U-Protein
Unlocking Protein Resource Opportunities To Evolve Ireland’s Nutrition (DAFM funded, https://www.teagasc.ie/food/research-and-innovation/research-areas/food-chemistry--technology/research-projects/u-protein/)

ProFaba
Developing improved Vicia faba breeding practices and varieties to drive domestic protein production in the European Union (ERA-NET SusCrop). (https://www.suscrop.eu/projects-first-call/profaba)

Legumes Translated
Legumes Translated is part of the European Innovation Partnership for Agricultural Productivity and Sustainability (EIP Agri). The consortium comprises 18 partners in 9 countries with 15 local innovation groups (Actor groups). (https://www.legumestranslated.eu/)

CREDIT
Cadmium and other Heavy Metals - Detection and Mitigation in Horticultural Produce, Soils and other Crops (DAFM funded, 17/5/254)

OPTI-BC
Optimising production technology in Ireland for break crops (DAFM funded, 15/S/704)

Education

Universidade de Lisboa Instituto Superior Técnico: Lisboa, Lisboa, PT
2006 to 2010 | Doctorate Degree in Chemistry
Universidade de Lisboa Faculdade de Ciências: Lisboa, Lisboa, PT
2002 to 2003 | Post-Graduate Diploma in Applied Analytical Chemistry
Universidade do Algarve: Faro, Faro, PT
1992 to 2001 | Biotechnology Engineering

Professional Membership

Association of Applied Biologists | 2020 to present | Member
European Association of Geochemistry | 2017 to present | Member

Molla F. Mengist, Dan Milbourne, Denis Griffin, Mike J. McLaughlin, Joanne Creedon, Peter W. Jones & Sheila Alves (2021). Zinc uptake and partitioning in two potato cultivars: implications for Biofortification. Plant and Soil, published online on 06 April 2021 (10.1007/s11104-021-04874-4).
Christopher Mc Eleney, Sheila Alves & Denis Mc Crudden (2020). Novel determination of Cd and Zn in soil extract by sequential application of bismuth and gallium thin films at a modified screen-printed carbon electrode. Analytica Chimica Acta, 1137:94-102 (10.1016/j.aca.2020.08.056).
Molla F. Mengist, Dan Milbourne, Sheila Alves, Mike J. McLaughlin, Peter W. Jones & Denis Griffin (2018). Roles of shoots and roots in cadmium uptake and distribution in tubers of potato (Solanum tuberosum L). Plant and Soil, 430:139–149 (10.1007/s11104-018-3717-3).
Molla F. Mengist, Sheila Alves, Denis Griffin, Joanne Creedon, Mike J. McLaughlin, Peter W. Jones & Dan Milbourne (2018). Genetic mapping of quantitative trait loci for tuber-cadmium and zinc concentration in potato reveals associations with maturity and both overlapping and independent components of genetic control. Theoretical and Applied Genetics, 131:929–945 (10.1007/s00122-017-3048-4).
Molla F. Mengist, Dan Milbourne, Denis Griffin, Mike J. McLaughlin, Joanne Creedon, Peter W. Jones & Sheila Alves (2017). Cadmium uptake and partitioning in potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) cultivars with different tuber-Cd concentration. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 24:27384–27391 (10.1007/s11356-017-0325-3).

S.Alves.2021. Growing field beans in Ireland: agronomic practices and current issues. National Tillage Conference, 3^rd of February, virtual conference (oral presentation).

S.Alves.2020. Enhancing the Agronomy and Management of Beans, National Tillage Conference, 31 January, Kilkenny, Ireland (oral presentation).

V. Tagkouli, D. O’Sullivan, S. Alves. 2019. Simulating breeding scenarios for faba beans. 9^th International Conference on Legume Genetics and Genomics (ICLGG), 13-17 May, Dijon, France (poster presentation).

L.C. Murphy, D.L. Sparkes, J.H. Spink, S. Alves. 2019. Optimising canopy size and structure in field beans (Vicia faba). Irish Plant Scientists’ Association Meeting (IPSAM 2019), 25-27 June, Carlow, Ireland (oral presentation).

S.Alves, D. Forristal. 2018. OPTI-BC: Optimising Production Technology in Ireland for Break Crops. National Tillage Conference, 31 January, Kilkenny, Ireland (poster presentation).

S.Alves, D. Wall, J. Grant, M. Hennessy, S. Nolan, M.J. McLaughlin, J. Creedon, P. Bonner, D. Griffin 2017. Cadmium remediation in agricultural fields for potato cultivation. Goldschmidt2017, 13-18 August, Paris, France (poster presentation).

L. Murphy, D. Sparkes, J. Spink, S. Alves. 2018. Optimising canopy size and structure in field beans. National Tillage Conference, 31 January, Kilkenny, Ireland (poster presentation).

M.F. Mengist, S. Alves, D. Griffin, M. McLaughlin, D. Milbourne. 2018. Understanding the inter-related genetics and physiology of Zn and Cd accumulation in northern European cultivated potato. 10^th World Potato Congress and the XXVIII Latin American Potato Association Congress, 27-31 May, Cusco, Peru (oral presentation).

Current PhD Students:

Lucie Cases (Institute of Technology Carlow)

Jamie-Leigh Carter (University of Reading)

Yuwei Qin (Wageningen University & Research)

Christopher Mc Eleney (Letterkenny Institute of Technology)

Former PhD students:

Leona Murphy (University of Nottingham)

Vasiliky Tagkouli (University of Reading)

Molla Mengist (University College Cork)