Solomon Udochi

Background

About Solomon Udochi

I am an Environmental Scientist working at the intersection of marine pollution, ecotoxicology, geochemistry, data science, and policy. At TMC, I help deliver environmental impact assessments (EIA) and defensible analyses for deep-sea polymetallic nodule projects, suplying critical minerals whilst keeping marine biodiversity central. I translate complex environmental datasets into clear evidence for regulators and stakeholders. My PhD (UEA) investigated the ecological effects of metal mining on marine sediment fauna and proposed recommendations toward protective Sediment Quality Criteria. I linked community‑level responses of nematodes and population‑level responses of the mud snail Peringia ulvae to multiple measures of metal contamination, identifying which metrics best predict in‑situ impacts and at what thresholds. I also examined metal remobilisation under pH and redox transitions typical of tidal estuaries to estimate potential exposure for benthic invertebrates. In a short postdoctoral project with my PhD supervisor, Prof. Alastair Grant, I developed a low-cost, high-throughput DNA extraction method for large sediment/soil samples, enabling robust eDNA/metabarcoding. As a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Edinburgh (Prof. Bryne Ngwenya's lab), I assessed (i) metal phytomining from mine tailings using hyperaccumulator plants and microbial inoculants (BBSRC-funded), and (ii) microbe-assisted phytoremediation of polluted soils (NERC-funded). This work deepened my microbiology skills and metagenomics/bioinformatics experience. Earlier at Abia State University, I served first as Assistant Lecturer and then Lecturer in the Department of Animal and Env. Biology, where I taught Ecotoxicology, Env. Pollution, Molecular Biology, and Practical Biology and supervised theses. I further supported Phase I/II Environmental Site Assessments for an onshore oil facility in the Niger Delta (producing litigation-ready evidence) and government-funded aquatic health studies on Oguta Lake, assessing water quality and fish safety risk. Focus: Marine pollution | EIA | contaminated land | ecotoxicology | metals | metagenomics/metabarcoding | plant–microbe–metal interactions | data‑driven policy Education: PhD Env. Science (UEA), MSc Env. Assessment & Mgt with Distinction (Salford), and BSc Animal & Env. Bio.(ABSU) with First Class Hons. and the Vice Chancellor’s Prize. ORCID: Google Scholar: & hl PhD thesis: ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/82744 Code: