Dr Ingo Hein – BSPP Elected Board Member

John Clarkson

Ingo is a group leader at the James Hutton Institute (formerly known as SCRI) in Dundee. After  finishing a Masters Degree in Biology in 1999 (Heinrich-Heine-University; Duesseldorf, Germany) he moved to Scotland to conduct a PhD that focused on studying the interaction between barley and the powdery mildew fungus Blumeria graminis f.sp. hordei (University of Dundee/MRS 1999 – 2003). As a Postdoc, Ingo worked briefly on raspberry resistance to Phytophthora fragariae var. rubi, the causal agent of raspberry root rot, before focusing on potato resistance towards late blight disease caused by Phytophthora infestans.

Ingo’s research focuses on the identification of more durable sources of late blight resistance within the Commonwealth Potato Collection (CPC) and encompasses late blight resistance screening as well as the  characterisation of pathogen effectors. The main aim is to clone and/or generate resistance genes that recognise key pathogen effectors and to understand the underlying mechanisms of virulence and avirulence.

Ingo joined the BSPP in 2000. During his time in Scotland he has developed a keen interest in fly fishing and scuba diving and has most definitely seen more fish under water than on dry land.