skip to content

Department of Plant Sciences

 

Research Group

 
 

Research Overview

Plant-parasitic nematodes are widespread pests, that cause over $100 billion in global crop losses annually. Control measures are extremely limited, and the few nematicides available are being successively removed from the marked. In my PhD thesis, I investigate the biology underlying plant-nematode interactions. The principal question my research aims to address is: “How do nematodes tailor their gene expression to successfully infect plants?”. To infect plants, nematodes rely on small molecules termed effectors. The central hypothesis is that by disrupting the regulation of effector genes, we can disrupt the production of many effectors at once and, thereby, nematode parasitism.
 
 

Qualifications

2021   MSc Crop Sciences, University of Hohenheim, Germany
2019   BSc Agricultural Science, University of Bonn, Germany

 

Awards and Grants

2023  ESN 2024 travel award, European Society of Nematologists
2023  Frank Smart Studentship, Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge
2023  Prize for best student talk at eSCAMPS 2023
2023  Pillman Conference Award, Girton College, University of Cambridge
2023  Departmental Award for the First Year Seminar, Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge
2023  Studienpreis des Unversitaetsbundes Hohenheim e.v. for the best master’s thesis at the faculty of agricultural sciences, University of Hohenheim
2022  Cambridge Trust & Rosalie Crawford Girton Scholarship
2022  PhD studentship in Collaborative Training Program for Sustainable Agricultural Innovation (CTP-SAI)
2021  Best degree in five years, MSc Crop Sciences, University of Hohenheim
2019  Ranked 1st, Bsc Agricultural Science, University of Bonn
2019  Selected participant in Honors Program, University of Bonn

 

 

Key Publications

Glutathione contributes to plant defence against parasitic cyst nematodes. 2022. Molecular Plant Pathology. https://doi.org/10.1111/mpp.13210

 

Committees

2023 - present  Board member, Young Nematologists Network
2023  Organising Committee Virtual Nematology Conference 2023
2023  Organising Committee CUPGRA Conference 2023

Postgraduate Student
Anika Damm

Contact Details

Email address: 
Crop Science Centre,
Lawrence Weaver Road,
Cambridge,
CB3 0LE