I work with 14 researchers across the School of Life and Environmental Sciences, and the Sydney School of Veterinary Science including the Australian Wildlife Genomics Group.

I led the UK Plant Health program for strawberry, raspberry, blueberry and blackberry. Projects included screening strawberry genetics for susceptibility to powdery mildew, Verticillium wilt Phytophthora crown rot, and crown gall. I worked closely with the Clean Stock Nursery group in the Netherlands working on off-types in blackberry, and with Saga Robotics investigating robot mounted UV-C to manage powdery mildew of strawberry.

My work focused on integrated pest and disease management, circular economy approaches in horticulture, and regenerative agriculture including the use of biostimulants. These projects were funded by the European Union (Interreg), AHDB, BBSRC, Innovate UK, and Global Challenges Research Fund.I supervised two PhD students and one 3rd year undergraduate student, with Harper Adam’s University, the University of Greenwich, and the University of Kent studying topics including raspberry root rot… Show more My work focused on integrated pest and disease management, circular economy approaches in horticulture, and regenerative agriculture including the use of biostimulants. These projects were funded by the European Union (Interreg), AHDB, BBSRC, Innovate UK, and Global Challenges Research Fund.I supervised two PhD students and one 3rd year undergraduate student, with Harper Adam’s University, the University of Greenwich, and the University of Kent studying topics including raspberry root rot, postharvest rots of apple, and the ambrosia beetle-fungus-tree interaction.Concurrently I led the NIAB East Malling Plant Clinic diagnosing a range of disease and physiological symptoms for industry, and ran commercial trials investigating Phytophthora crown rot management of strawberry.This work enabled industry to operate more efficiently, sustainably and with reduced reliance on conventional pesticides. Show less

This role was focused on pathogens of European forest trees including Phytophthora ramorum infecting larch (ramorum disease), Cryphonectria parasitica infecting sweet chestnut (chestnut blight) and Hymenoscyphus fraxineus infecting European ash (ash dieback). I also worked on the Horizon2020 project POnTE project https://www.ponteproject.eu investigating soil borne Phytophthora spp. in managed and unmanaged environments across the UK. This work enabled effective management and reduction of the… Show more This role was focused on pathogens of European forest trees including Phytophthora ramorum infecting larch (ramorum disease), Cryphonectria parasitica infecting sweet chestnut (chestnut blight) and Hymenoscyphus fraxineus infecting European ash (ash dieback). I also worked on the Horizon2020 project POnTE project https://www.ponteproject.eu investigating soil borne Phytophthora spp. in managed and unmanaged environments across the UK. This work enabled effective management and reduction of the economic and environmental impacts of these diseases. Show less

My main focus was reducing the impact of Queensland fruit fly, the most devastating insect pest to Australian horticulture. Part of my research focused on the sterile insect technique (SIT), a method where gamma irradiated mass-reared sterile flies are released to compete with and reduce wild pest populations. We also tested bacterial probiotics to enhance the fitness and performance of the mass-reared larvae.

I worked with the Forestry Agricultural Biotechnology Institute investigating fungi from the Botryosphaeriaceae which includes many important plant pathogens.