I started at the CCDM in 2024, where I undertook my final year honours project for my Bachelor of Advanced Science (molecular genetics). Under the supervision of Dr James Hane and Dr Kristina Gagalova, my project was focused on bioinformatic workflow development for large-scale pathogen pan-genomics, supporting effector discovery and surveillance across a variety of pathosystems. After graduating with first class honours and undertaking a few short-term research assistant roles, I started my PhD project under AAGI in late 2025.
PhD Project Title: Harnessing structural bioinformatics and pathogenicity mechanisms for advancing crop protection and pathogen control.
Summary: Through my PhD project, I aim to develop tools and resources that enhance the discovery and characterisation of effectors and their interactions with hosts, leveraging advances in structural prediction, generative protein design, and novel machine-learning architectures such as protein language models. I am particularly interested in applying these methods for automated, large-scale protein-protein interaction discovery, structural conservation-based effector prediction, and investigations of effector evolution and function.
Supervisors: Dr Kristina Gagalova, Dr Callum Verdonk, Dr Mark Derbyshire