Submitted by Jane Durkin on Mon, 02/03/2026 - 10:30
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 research and to the plant pathology research community through his commitments to mentorship and collaboration.
His work has significantly advanced the understanding of plant pathogen interactions and defensive signalling in plants, from early work on pathogenesis-related proteins and salicylic acid signalling to influential research on plant-microbe interactions and virus transmission.
After completing a Biochemistry degree at the University of Liverpool, his early research focused on pathogenesis-related proteins during a formative period in plant defence research. This work built upon pioneering discoveries demonstrating that salicylic acid and its synthetic derivative, aspirin, could induce resistance responses in plants, research that helped shape today’s understanding of plant immune signalling.
Subsequent postdoctoral research in the laboratories of Dan Klessig and Milt Zaitlin further explored gene expression in response to virus infection. It contributed to early insights into salicylic acid as a natural endogenous defence signal.
At Cambridge, Carr’s research group has investigated defensive signal transduction pathways, virus–plant interactions, and the complex relationships between plants, viruses and insect vectors such as aphids, alongside beneficial insects including pollinators.
Professor Carr said: “I am truly humbled and honoured that the British Society for Plant Pathology has awarded me an Honorary Membership.
“All the work has depended upon successful collaboration, notably with my longest-standing collaborators Alex Murphy and Peter Palukaitis, as well as with so many marvellous colleagues, students and postdocs I have been most fortunate to work with over many years.
“Finally, I would like to thank the BSPP both for this honour and for much support over the years, most notably providing bursaries for two superb masters students, but most importantly for creating a marvellous community of plant pathologists.”
Professor Julian Hibberd, Head of the Department of Plant Sciences at Cambridge said: “It is wonderful, and an absolutely fitting tribute to John’s continuous contribution to this area of biology, that the British Society of Plant Pathology have decided to bestow Honorary Membership. On behalf of the Department, I offer my heartiest congratulations.”
You may also be interested in:
• Professor John Carr’s new Honorary Member of BSPP article
Image: Professor John Carr, Head of the Virology and Molecular Plant Pathology group. Photo credit: Graham CopeKoga / Cambridge Philosophical Society.
Adapted from an article published by the British Society of Plant Pathology on 25 February 2026. Read the original article.