Tom Thirkell

Tom Thirkell is a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Crop Science Centre as part of the Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge.

Biography

I’m a plant physiological ecologist with interests in sustainable agriculture, crop nutrition and soil microbial ecology. My work focusses on the interactions between crop plants and soil microbes, especially the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. My research at the Crop Science Centre uses complimentary greenhouse and field trial experiments to investigate the role of mycorrhizas in crop nutrition; I am studying the role of plant nutrient sensing in determining mycorrhizal benefit to crops, and exploring the potential to breed crop plants for improved interactions with soil microbial symbionts.