Plant Pathology: My postgraduate scientific career began with the use of protein variation to study the population genetics of European salmon and trout populations. In 1982 I joined the Science Service of the Department of Agriculture for Northern Ireland (later to become the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute) and adapted this molecular based approach to the identification and detection of insects and plant parasitic nematodes. A Fulbright Scholarship at the University of Nebraska (1993-94) helped develop my long-term interests in DNA based diagnostics of plant pests and pathogens. The detection and management of plant parasitic nematodes in agricultural crops, horticulture and sports turf has been a primary focus of my research.Plant Health: Much of my recent career has been in the field of regulatory plant health controls and has involved supporting biosecurity using risk-based assessments of new plant pests and pathogens, as well as monitoring emerging plant health threats. Biostimulants: My interests in controlling abiotic stress and disease in plants using biostimulants began over 20 years ago and has involved collaborations with a large number of commercial companies and supervising university student projects. My role with Maxstim will allow me to spend more of my time developing novel approaches to the management of crop and turfgrass abiotic and biotic stress, which increasingly are major threats to plant production around the world.