I began working at the CCDM in 2022 through my Bachelor of Advanced Science degree, focusing on physiological disease response of crops to net blotch and yellow spot. Under the supervision of Dr Fatima Naim and Dr Ayaslew Zerihun, my thesis used in-field hyperspectral phenotyping to screen for disease tolerance to yellow spot. After completing my degree with First Class Honours in late 2025, I began a PhD in 2026 investigating the genetic drivers of resistance to yellow spot disease in wheat. My research interests include long-read sequencing, disease tolerance, hyperspectral phenotyping, and fluorescent confocal microscopy.
PhD Project Title: Dissecting the genetic and pathogenic drivers of Yellow Spot infection in wheat to improve in-field disease ratings.
Supervisors: Dr Fatima Naim, Professor Mark Gibberd, Dr Ayalslew Zerihun, and Dr Dion Bennett