Hediyeh Tahghighi is a research assistant working on lentil and chickpea Ascochyta projects. These researches are aimed at working towards a better understanding of pathogen population and the factors that determine virulence and aggressiveness in Ascochyta blight-causing species. We are also looking at the genetics of lentil and chickpea to try to find and characterise, new sources of disease resistance to use in plant breeding programs.
Hediyeh did her BSc. Agricultural Engineering-Agronomy and Plant Breeding at Gilan University, Iran. She worked for the Rice Research Institute of Iran for more than two years. Then did MSc. Agricultural Science (Genetics and Breeding) at the University of Western Australia. She followed up her study by working and volunteering at several agriculture and plant research companies before joining CCDM in October 2019. Hediyeh has a passion for Agricultural science and new discoveries, “Agriculture plays such an important role and so the work that I am doing in these projects is all about sustainably reducing the impact of crop disease and helping to make farm businesses and industry more resilient” she said.