Group Leader
I am a group leader at the John Innes Centre (JIC), studying plant-microbe interactions and rhizosphere microbiology. From 2011 to 2020 I was employed by UEA as a Synergy Lecturer, based at JIC, before moving fully to JIC in October 2020. Supported by BBSRC, Innovate UK and industry, my lab conducts research into plant colonisation mechanisms in Pseudomonas spp., bacterial biocontrol / biostimulation and the impact of agriculture on microbial variation in field soil.
The lab has expertise in protein biochemistry, environmental and molecular microbiology, alongside microbial interaction/infection assays for various different plants. Much of my work involves leveraging academic findings to enable translational science and I am a co-founder and director of PfBIO, a JIC spin-out company that identifies microbial biocontrol agents for agricultural diseases.