Steve McGrath is a Discovery Leader in Sustainable Soils and Crops at Rothamsted Research, Harpenden, UK. He pioneered interdisciplinary research that has significantly advanced understanding of the bioavailability of trace elements, and their biological impacts in agriculture, the environment, food safety and human health. He has successfully bridged the fields of biogeochemistry, environmental science, soil science, soil microbiology, plant and crop science, resulting in groundbreaking discoveries and innovative solutions.
Examples include research on: arsenic mobility in paddy soils that revealed the uptake and detoxification mechanisms in plants and provided valuable insights for breeding rice with lower arsenic accumulation; metal hyperaccumulation in plants which created new opportunities for phytoremediation of contaminated soils; micronutrient deficiencies in crops which highlighted the global issue of hidden hunger and led to improved biofortification of soils and crops.
Steve was elected as a Fellow of the International Society for Selenium Research, a Fellow of the Institute of Soil Science, as an Honorary Member by the International Society of Trace Element Biogeochemistry and is recognised as a Highly Cited Researcher by Clarivate.
Professional position
- Discovery Leader in Sustainable Soils and Crops, Rothamsted Research
Subject groups
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Earth and Environmental Sciences
Agricultural and forest science, Biogeochemical cycles, Soil science
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Patterns in Populations
Plant sciences / botany
