Anika Damm
- PhD Postgraduate Student
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About
Anika Damm is a PhD Postgraduate Student at the Crop Science Centre as part of the Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge.
Qualifications
2021 - MSc in Crop Sciences - University of Hohenheim, Germany
2019 - BSc in Agricultural Science - University of Bonn, Germany
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Awards & Grants
2025 - Amy Kendal Smith Prize for the best third year poster - Department of Plant Sciences University of Cambridge, England
2024 - Frank Smart Studentship - Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge, England
2024 - David Miller Award - SCI Horticulture Group
2024 - Best oral communication - ESN2024, European Society of Nematologists
2023 - ESN 2024 travel award - European Society of Nematologists
2023 - Frank Smart Studentship - Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge, England
2023 - Prize for best student talk - eSCAMPS 2023
2023 - Pillman Conference Award - Girton College, University of Cambridge, England
2023 - Departmental Award for the First Year Seminar - Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge, England
2023 - Studienpreis des Unversitaetsbundes Hohenheim e.v. for the best master’s thesis at the faculty of agricultural sciences - University of Hohenheim, Germany
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, Germany
2019 - Ranked 1st, Bsc Agricultural Science - University of Bonn, Germany
2019 - Selected participant in Honors Program - University of Bonn, Germany
Committees
2023 to present - Board member - Young Nematologists Network
2023 - Organising Committee - Virtual Nematology Conference
2023 - Organising Committee - CUPGRA Conference
Research
Research Group
Plant-Parasite/Pathogen Interactions
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.