Agricultural Crop Research

Responsibilities

Alex Talibudeen is the Technical Manager responsible for DUS (Distinctness, Uniformity and Stability) Testing of Winter Oilseed Rape, Fodder Rape, Field Bean, and Fodder Kale on behalf of APHA for National Listing (NL) and Plant Breeder’s Rights (PBR).

Alex Joined NIAB in July 2010 and has since been involved with the delivery of Agricultural and Ornamental species DUS testing and Seed Certification. During this time, Alex has also specialised in the use of image analysis phenotyping for DUS purposes.

Tim joined NIAB in March 2018, with more than 30 years’ experience in the agricultural industry, and was appointed as Technical Manager for Seed Certification in March 2019. He has responsibility for administration, control plots and seed crop inspections for all agricultural crop species. He also manages certification under the OECD seed schemes in England and Wales.

Research interests

James is a Group Leader working on trait genetics at NIAB. After completing a PhD and post-doctoral position at the John Innes Centre, he has worked at NIAB as a Group Leader since 2013. His research focuses on the application of plant molecular genetics, genomics, to investigate the genetic control of yield, yield components, disease resistance and quality traits in cereal crops, with particular focus on wheat and multi-founder advanced generation inter-cross (MAGIC) populations.

Research interests

Research interests

In my PhD, I have worked extensively on root-nodule symbiosis in peanut (Arachis hypogaea) and model legume Medicago truncatula to understand the crosstalk between phytohormonal pathway and symbiosis pathway in the development of nodule meristem through molecular biology and comparative transcriptomics.

Jordan is a senior specialist in fungal biotechnology and microbial genomics at NIAB in Cambridge. His current work utilises functional and comparative genomics of Ascomycota and Basidiomycota species of fungi to facilitate strain optimisation for alternative protein production.

His previous postdoctoral work at the University of Kent with Prof Alessia Buscaino focused on understanding the genetic and genomic alterations underpinning the pathogenicity of the human fungal pathogen Candida albicans.

Research interests

Crop improvement, host-pathogen interactions, pathogenomics and the evolution of virulence, downy mildew species

Research projects

Panacea: Pathogenomics for Enhancing Food Security in Africa; Duration: August 2018-December 2019; Partners:  NIAB (lead), National Crop Resources Research Institute, Uganda; Funding: BBSRC-GCRF

(CP184) Downy mildew and Late blight Control: Duration: January 2019-December 2021; Partners: NIAB, JHI (Lead), ADAS, Stockbridge Technology Centre, UoWorcester; Funding: AHDB

Research interests

Sandra is responsible for the delivery of large scale pathology field trials and specialised glasshouse and growth room tests. Trials are designed to test the performance of varieties in relation to disease resistance. She works with fungi, bacteria viruses and some nematodes, and the data obtained feeds into National and Recommended List resistance ratings. She also works with the agrochemical industry providing tests for product efficacy using a range of techniques to create infection and provide data for registration.

Research interests

Research interests:

Emma leads the Crop Transformation Group at NIAB and is responsible for the development and progression of both academic research projects and contract services for external customers. The main focus is the transformation of wheat, where NIAB has expanded the range of germplasm which can be utilised to include UK elite varieties and durum wheats.