Amy Barsby

Amy Barsby 1984-2010

Amy Barsby, who died in a gliding accident on 8th August 2010, was a gentle and well-liked young woman who loved and actively pursued both academic research and sporting interests. Staff and postgraduate students in the School of Geography, Archaeology & Palaeoecology (GAP) are shocked and saddened by her tragic loss. She had been a PhD student in the School since 2007, and her doctoral research, on trace element abundance and human epidemiology in Northern Ireland, was in its third year and nearing completion, with submission expected later this year.
The project brought together data from the Geological Survey of Northern Ireland (GSNI) and from the Northern Ireland Cancer Registry (NICR) with the aim of exploring the potential spatial correlations between trace elements in the soils and waters and human diseases, specifically cancer. Amy worked tirelessly for three years in analysing these data and drawing patterns of significance from both geological and medical perspectives, working with staff and resources in GAP, the School of Planning, Architecture and Civil Engineering, GSNI and NICR. She was very, very good at what she did. Her supervisors in both Schools and other research colleagues are committed to seeing that this research is published and makes the contribution to the field that it deserves.

Keith Bennett, Head of School (GAP)

Jenny McKinley, Lecturer (GAP) and Amy's supervisor

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Address

Room 0G 034A, Elmwood Building
School of Geography, Archaeology and Palaeoecology (GAP)
Queen's University Belfast
Belfast, BT7 1NN
Northern Ireland, UK

Current Research:

Trace Element Abundance and Human Epidemiology in Northern Ireland – the Tellus Case Study

Tellus is the most concentrated mapping exercise ever undertaken in Northern Ireland, launched in 2004 by the Geological Survey of Northern Ireland, it was funded by the Department for Enterprise, Trade and Investment. It consists of airborne geophysical and ground based geochemical surveys for more than 50 compounds in shallow and deep soils, stream water and stream sediments on a 2km² grid.

http://www.bgs.ac.uk/gsni/Tellus/index.html

This project will bring together data from the Tellus Project and the Northern Ireland Cancer Registry with the aim of exploring the potential spatial correlations between trace elements in the soils and waters and human diseases, specifically cancer. A further aim is to identify any potential exposure pathways and then to estimate the specific bioavailability of the compounds of interest.

Additional Information:

Undergraduate degree in Archaeology (MA Hons.) at Edinburgh University (2007).