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Alumni stories: Mike Lock

12 March 2026

From a Cambridge PhD on hippo grazing to a life in tropical ecology - 1963 Cambridge Botany graduate and distinguished botanist, Mike Lock, shares his varied career in the natural sciences. Studying Plant Sciences at Cambridge can open up a wealth of career opportunities. In this series, we hear from Plant Sciences alumni...

Pilkington Prize certificates. Photo credit: University of Cambridge

Professor John Carr wins Pilkington Prize for outstanding teaching

11 March 2026

We are delighted to share that Professor John Carr , Head of the Virology and Molecular Plant Pathology group at the Department of Plant Sciences, has been awarded a prestigious University of Cambridge Pilkington Prize. The award recognises Professor Carr’s exceptional contribution to teaching, practical training and...

Meadow flowers. Photo credit: Howard Rice.

Voluntary biodiversity credits could help fund global nature recovery alongside other approaches, finds UK rewilding study

4 March 2026

Payments that enable landowners to rewild ecologically degraded land - in the form of biodiversity credits bought by investors wishing to offset their impact on nature - could be an effective component of the emerging market for nature recovery, but will not work as a stand-alone approach. A University of Cambridge-led...

John Carr, Head of the Virology and Molecular Plant Pathology group. Photo credit: Graham CopeKoga / Cambridge Philosophical Society.

Professor John Carr’s exceptional contribution to plant pathology recognised with BSPP Honorary Membership

2 March 2026

Congratulations to Professor John Carr , Head of the Virology and Molecular Plant Pathology group at the Department of Plant Sciences, who has been elected this year’s new Honorary Member of the British Society of Plant Pathology (BSPP) . This award recognises Professor Carr’s significant contributions to plant pathogen...

UK-CGIAR Bambara groundnut consortium members outside St John’s College, Cambridge. Credit: Aga Alexander / Crop Science Centre, Cambridge.

Global experts meet in Cambridge to advance the future of the Bambara groundnut

23 February 2026

On 12-13 February 2026, the Crop Science Centre (CSC) welcomed world-leading researchers and development partners for the inaugural UK-CGIAR Bambara groundnut consortium meeting at St John’s College, Cambridge. The two-day event brought together members of the UK-CGIAR Centre project for the genetic improvement of Bambara...

Dr Warsame surveys women working at a grain market in the capital of Somalia, Mogadishu. Photo from Warsame’s personal archives.

How genebanks helped Ahmed bring back cowpea to Somalia

16 February 2026

Decades of conflict devastated Somalia’s food systems, but scientists like Dr Ahmed Warsame , Head of the Legume Crop Resilience and Quality group at the Department of Plant Sciences, are helping restore them. Marta Millere from the Crop Trust profiles Dr Warsame’s work to revive Somalia’s cowpea diversity. By retrieving...

Ramphal. a rice farmer from Chamrori vilaage in India

How I’m helping rice farmers in India harness the power of fungi in the soil

4 February 2026

Dr Emily Servanté from the Cereal Symbiosis group, Department of Plant Sciences, writes about her research into using soil fungi as natural biofertilisers to improve crop performance and reduce environmental impact in rice farming. It’s an exciting time to be a microbiologist working in rice research. A global push towards...

Liquidambar styraciflua at Cambridge University Botanic Garden in full autumn colours.

World’s vast plant knowledge not being fully exploited to tackle biodiversity and climate challenges, warn researchers

22 January 2026

An international group of researchers says that biodiversity conservation and scientific research are not benefiting from the vast knowledge about the world’s plants held by botanic gardens, because of fragmented data systems and a lack of standardisation. In a new report led by Professor Samuel Brockington from the...

Aerial photography of farmland. Photo by Tom Fisk.

Smarter epidemic models for a food-secure future

17 December 2025

When we think about protecting crops from disease, the spotlight usually falls on high-tech fixes – new pesticides, genetic engineering, advanced fungicides. But there’s a powerful, low-tech ally we often ignore: the landscape itself. Recent theoretical studies carried out by the Epidemiology and Modelling group at the...

Cassava root infected by Cassava Brown Streak Disease (CBSD). Credit: Anna Szyniszewska, Epidemiology and Modelling group, University of Cambridge.

Managing cassava viral epidemics – linking insect transmission and epidemic risk

14 December 2025

A team at the University of Cambridge have developed new tools to predict disease risk in cassava and help protect a vital food security crop in sub-Saharan Africa. Cassava, a staple food grown widely across sub-Saharan Africa, is severely threatened by diseases such as Cassava Mosaic Disease (CMD) and Cassava Brown Streak...

Alumni stories: Mike Lock

Professor John Carr wins Pilkington Prize for outstanding teaching

Voluntary biodiversity credits could help fund global nature recovery alongside other approaches, finds UK rewilding study

Professor John Carr’s exceptional contribution to plant pathology recognised with BSPP Honorary Membership

Global experts meet in Cambridge to advance the future of the Bambara groundnut

How genebanks helped Ahmed bring back cowpea to Somalia

How I’m helping rice farmers in India harness the power of fungi in the soil

World’s vast plant knowledge not being fully exploited to tackle biodiversity and climate challenges, warn researchers

Smarter epidemic models for a food-secure future

Managing cassava viral epidemics – linking insect transmission and epidemic risk

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