Dr Chris Ridout - BSPP Publicity Officer
As part of his undergraduate degree at Liverpool
Polytechnic, Chris got the opportunity to spend a year working at the plant
pathology department at ADAS Newcastle. This stimulated his interest in the
subject, and he went on to obtain a Ph.D from the University of Hull, working on
the biological control of
Rhizoctonia solani. He then left the academic
world, and worked for several years in the marketing of contract research at AEA
technology in Oxfordshire. This involved contract negotiation, intellectual
property, business planning and the preparation of publicity material. But the
lure of plant pathology was too great, so Chris decided to return to lab work,
this time on the commercial development of a biocontrol product at the USDA in
Maryland, USA. He later returned to the UK, and moved to the John Innes Centre
and Sainsbury Lab in Norwich to work on the molecular genetics of avirulence in
cereal powdery mildews. Chris now works as a senior Scientist at JIC, developing
a research programme on basal resistance in cereals with the aim of applying
this work in agriculture.
Chris has a long-standing interest in science communication, and has been
involved in organising several public events. He will be working to promote
plant pathology and the BSPP at conferences, in the media and through the use of
publicity material. If you have some interesting results, or are considering an
event or exhibition about plant pathology, he would be delighted to hear from
you.
