The 11th UKEOF UK DNA Working Group conference was held on the 13th-14th May 2025 at The Royal Society, London, organised by Sarah Giles (Royal Society), Lori Lawson Handley (UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, UKCEH), Andy Nisbet (Natural England) and Dan Read (UKCEH), with help from members of the UKDNA-WG steering group and early career volunteers.
The conference followed on from a programme of work between the UKDNA-WG and Royal Society that resulted in the publication of a policy explainer on environmental DNA on the 11th March 2025. The policy explainer and a short summary, together with the conference programme can be found on the Royal Society’s website. Talks were recorded and will be available to view on the Royal Society website shortly.
The conference brought together 180 researchers, policy makers, end users and commercial companies employing DNA-based monitoring. The UKDNAWG conference normally focuses on biodiversity monitoring, but this year, thanks to the support of the Royal Society, included leaders in the fields of pathogen detection, forensics, and defence, providing an opportunity to learn from the technological advances that have been made across disciplines.
Conference sessions included: how eDNA can contribute to policy-related biodiversity monitoring needs, novel and emerging methods for terrestrial DNA-based monitoring (including airborne eDNA), eDNA based monitoring in aquatic systems, health and forensic applications of eDNA, and standards, best practice, knowledge gaps and opportunities.
Invited talks included Prof. Gideon Henderson FRS (Defra Chief Scientific Advisor) on the opportunities for eDNA to contribute to Defra priorities, Prof. David Bass (Chair of the Defra DNA Centre for Excellence, CoE) on the DNA CoE strategy, a joint summary by Lesley Rippon (Natural England) and Katherine Burgess (Environment Agency) on how the Natural Capital and Ecosystem Assessment (NCEA) Programme uses DNA for environmental monitoring, Prof Niamh Nic Daéid FRSE (University of Dundee) on eDNA as a tool in the criminal justice system, Prof Davey Jones (Bangor University) on innovations in wastewater-based epidemiology (including Covid-19 screening), Prof Bridget Emmett OBE (UKCEH) on the role of eDNA in soil ecosystem monitoring, Dr Joanne Littlefair (UCL) on promises and challenges in application of airborne eDNA, Dr Kate Wade (JNCC) on application of eDNA to UK marine monitoring, Prof Si Creer (Bangor University) on insights from studies of eDNA in lotic systems and Prof Florian Leese (University of Duisberg-Essen) on the need for standardisation and FAIR principles in eDNA science, to unlock its potential in global biodiversity monitoring.
Over 80 abstracts were submitted and of them, 17 full talks, 22 speed talks and 40 posters presented, in addition to the invited talks. Submitted presentations spanned early career and established researchers, end users and eDNA providers.
Panel discussions were held on both days, with invited panellists representing the cross section of delegates. Discussions focussed on the opportunities for cross discipline and cross sector collaboration and opportunities and challenges for eDNA research and operationalisation. The second panel session also included a participant survey and discussion on the future of the UKDNA-WG. Watch this space for more information on the survey results in the near future!
Want to learn more?
You can find more about the UK DNA Working Group here, and read about their 2025 conference. You can also follow the group on Bluesky @ukdnawg.bsky.social to catch up with posts about the conference and other activities. You can also follow the main UKEOF Bluesky account, @ukeof.bsky.social.
Thank yous
Sincere thanks to:
- Sarah Giles, Madeleine Quirk and Melissa Saphra and all the team from the Royal Society for hosting and wonderful organisation
- Members of the academic panel for assisting with the difficult task of scoring abstracts: Joanne Littlefair (University College London), Lynsey Harper (Natural England), Andy Briscoe (Nature Metrics), Eleni Matechou (Queen Mary University London), Nadia Barsoum (Forest Research), Nathan Griffiths (University of the Highlands and Islands)
- Session chairs: Dan Read (UKCEH), Andy Briscoe (Nature Metrics), Kerry Walsh (Environment Agency), David Bass (Cefas/Defra DNA Centre of Excellence), Katie Clark (Natural England), Holly Broadhurst (University of Salford)
- Discussion panel: Joanne Littlefair (UCL), Davey Jones (Bangor University), Jamie Marsay (Kromek), Kerry Walsh (Environment Agency), Susheel Bhanu Busi (UKCEH), Dan Read (UKCEH), Florian Leese (University of Duisberg-Essen), Kate Wade (JNCC), Si Creer (University of Bangor), Lynsey Harper (Natural England)
- Lynsey Harper (Natural England) for expertly managing posts @ukdnawg.bsky.social
- Student helpers: Abi Mackay (Nottingham Trent University), Nehlin Sayed (University College London), Michael Bennett (UKCEH) and Tina Xi He (University of Nottingham)