Professor Sebastian Eves-van den Akker

The overarching theme of my research is to combine genomics and molecular biology to understand fundamental questions in host:parasite biology. My group primarily focus on plant-parasitic nematodes because: i) they are a threat to food security in developed and developing countries, and ii) underlying this threat is a wealth of fascinating biology that until very recently has been largely unexplorable.

School of Biological Sciences theme affiliations

Organisms, Evolution and Ecology

Infection and Immunity

Previous positions

2021 to present - Official Fellow - King’s College Cambridge

2018 to 2024 - BBSRC David Phillips Fellow - University of Cambridge

2018 to 2021 - Research Fellow - King’s College Cambridge

2015 to 2018 - BBSRC Academic Future Leaders Fellow - University of Dundee

Qualifications

2010 to 2014 - PhD in Plant Nematode Effectors - University of Leeds and The James Hutton Institute

2007 to 2010 - BSc Biology - University of Leeds

Key Publications

'How and when organisms edit their own genomes', (2025), Nature Genetics. doi.org/10.1038/s41588-025-02230-1

'The SUbventral-Gland Regulator (SUGR-1) of nematode virulence', (2025), Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2415861122

'The origin, deployment, and evolution of a plant-parasitic nematode effectorome', (2024), PLoS Pathogens. doi.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1012395

'The genome and lifestage-specific transcriptomes of a plant-parasitic nematode and its host reveal susceptibility genes involved in trans-kingdom synthesis of vitamin B5', (2022), Nature Communications. doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-33769-w

'Plant-Nematode Interactions'. (2021). Current Opinions in Plant Biology. doi.org/10.1016/j.pbi.2021.102035

Awards and Fellowships

2025 - Early Career Achievement Award - MPMI

2021 - Schroth Faces of the Future Award - The American Phytopathological Society

2018 - New Lecturer Award in human/animal nutrition or crop science - Rank Fund

2016 - Young Researcher in Crop Sciences - Society of Chemical Industry

2016 - Peter Massalski Prize - Scottish Society of Crop Research

2017 - David Miller Award - Society of Chemical Industry

Committees

2020 to present - Invited member - Faculty Opinions

2020 to present - Member - Equality, Diversity and Wellbeing Committee at the Department of Plant Sciences

2019 to 2027 - Appointment to BBSRC Pool of Experts

2018 to present - Secretary - European Society of Nematologists

2014 to 2018 - Committee Member - Society of Chemical Industry Horticultural Group

Public Engagement

2024 - Gatsby Plant Sciences Summer School interview

2020 - The Naked Scientists podcast and BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

2020 - Science on Sunday Seminar at the Cambridge Botanical Gardens

2020 - Featured in The Vegetable Farmer November Issue

2018 - Street Food public engagement event, University of Dundee

2016 - Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board Inspiration, Innovation, Implementation Presentation