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Department of Plant Sciences

 

Research Group

Crop Pathogen Immunity

Biography

Chris is a research assistant within the Crop Pathogen Immunity group with Lida Derevnina at the Crop Science Centre. Chris completed his PhD at Rothamsted Research (and University of Nottingham), focused on enhancing the understanding of a gene-for-gene interaction between the wheat resistance gene Stb6 and the Zymoseptoria tritici effector AvrStb6. Subsequently, Chris was employed as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Cologne, where he worked on the identification of plant host genetic factors underpinning beneficial interactions with the fungal endophyte Serendipita indica. Chris' research interests focus on the molecular basis for plant-microbe interactions and plant immunity.

Previous Positions

2022 to 2024 - Postdoctoral Researcher - University of Cologne, Germany

2022 - Visiting Researcher - John Innes Centre, UK

Qualifications

2022 -  PhD in “Understanding the Molecular Basis of Disease Resistance Against Septoria Tritici Blotch in Wheat” - University of Nottingham and Rothamsted Research/

Key Publications

'WAKsing plant immunity, waning diseases', (2021), Journal of Experimental Botany.

'Remarkable recent changes in the genetic diversity of the avirulence gene AvrStb6 in global populations of the wheat pathogen Zymoseptoria tritici', (2021), Molecular Plant Pathology.

 

Research Assistant
Christopher Stephens

Contact Details

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