Research Team
Honorary Research Fellow in Archaeology, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK. She is an archaeological scientist with long experience in the industrial minerals of antiquity and the project’s principal investigator (PI). She will be responsible for the effective cross-linking of the project’s diverse themes. She is also the PI of NERC-FENAC and Society of Antiquaries of Scotland funded projects, currently running in parallel and under the same research theme.
Professor of Mineral Resources Engineer at the Technical University of Crete, Chania, Greece. Clay mineralogist, geochemist and economic geologist, George Christidis will be responsible for the chemical and mineralogical characterisation of the minerals derived from the thematic landscapes, focusing on their properties and potential medicinal applications.
Curator of Sculpture at the National Archaeological Museum, Athens, Greece, Despina Ignatiadou has been researching the role of warrior/doctor/priests in the Classical and Roman periods in Macedonia, N Greece. She will juxtapose material culture arising from burials and archaeological evidence deriving from Macedonian Asclepeia.
Senior Lecturer in Environmental Engineering at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK, Charles Knapp is a microbial ecologist with expertise in the role and effects of antimicrobial compounds in the environment. He will coordinate and guide the work on DNA sequencing of the microbial colonies associated with the minerals derived from the thematic landscapes, focusing on the effect they may have in attributing antimicrobial properties to the minerals, a key aim in the GR-AMs seed project.
Assistant Professor of Environmental Microbiology in the School of Environmental Engineering at Technical University of Crete. Danae Venieri is a biologist with expertise in the microbiological quality of aquatic environment and microbial response against pollutants. She will coordinate and guide the work on the bioactivity of minerals against reference bacterial strains. She will be focusing on the antimicrobial properties of the archaeological, geological, and composite samples of the project.
PhD Candidate at the University of Glasgow, Ianto Jocks will be investigating the practicality of Roman pharmacy and pharmacology in addition to its theoretical, economic and socio-cultural context.
A biologist working in the Laboratory of Environmental Microbiology in the School of Environmental Engineering at Technical University of Crete, Iosifina Gounaki will work on the microbiological assaying of the archaeological, geological, and composite samples. She will perform the susceptibility assays, which will determine the bioactivity of the samples against reference bacterial strains.
Lecturer in Geoinformatics at the School of Geographical and Earth Sciences, University of Glasgow, Dr Barrett is responsible for the accurate recording and 3-D illustration of some of the thematic landscapes. He is instrumental in creating a permanent record of these dynamic landscapes allowing the continuing scrutiny of their nature and character even after the field work period has come to an end.
Researcher in mineralogy in Department of Earth, Environment and Resource Sciences, University of Naples "Federico II", Naples, Italy. Her expertise is in the crystal chemistry of minerals from lavas, pyroclastic rocks and ore deposits, as well as on archaeometric studies of metallic objects and other artifacts. Pina Balassone will contribute with field and sampling work in the Campi Flegrei area, and with mineralogical analyses of medicinal minerals in museum collections.
Professor of Geography, University of Canterbury, New Zealand, and Reader in Geographical and Earth Sciences, University of Glasgow. Jim Hansom will investigate the changes over time in the land surface processes and resultant morphologies of the therapeutic landscapes. Land surface morphologies are subject to environmental and human-driven changes over time, changes that may have profound effects on the distribution and nature of both habitats and minerals.
Researcher in Volcanology at the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology, Osservatorio Vesuviano, Naples, Italy. Monica Piocchi specialises in the physics of volcanoes and magmatic processes and is interested in the study of dynamics at quiescent volcanoes through merging data from diverse disciplines. She plans to examine the implications of monitoring microbial ecology as a means of hazard assessment within extreme volcano landscapes.
Researcher, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), Istituto di Studi sul Mediterraneo Antico (ISMA), Rome, Italy. Andrea Di Renzoni will be responsible for the archaeological survey of Vulcano island with particular reference to prehistoric and 19th century activities.
Researcher in Mineralogy at the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology, Osservatorio Vesuviano, Naples, Italy. Responsible for the running of the of X-ray powder diffraction Laboratory at her institution, Angela Mormone will be focusing on the mineralogical characterization of Campi Flegrei efflorescences and associated minerals.