Nicola is head of the Plant Health Group at the Central Science Laboratory (CSL) at York. The key areas of plant pathology work for the Group are pest and disease diagnosis in support of plant health legislation and commercially; Plant disease risk analysis and management to deal with quarantine contingency issues; Research and development of diagnostic methods for laboratory and field use and science consultancy support for international plant health policy.

Nicola’s own research interests focus on the detection, characterisation epidemiology and control of plant viruses affecting horticultural and tropical crops. She is also interested in the analysis of international plant trade in relation to potential risks to plant health. She is a Special Professor in applied plant pathology at the University of Nottingham and is a scientific adviser to the Horticultural Development Council Soft Fruit sector panel.

Nicola is a graduate of the University of Durham, gaining a BSc in Botany. She then went on to study for an MSc in Microbiology at Birkbeck College, University of London and a PhD in Plant Virology at the University of Birmingham. She joined HRI, Wellesbourne as a plant pathologist in 1987 and worked on projects ranging from control of Allium white rot to characterisation of viruses of beans in Africa before joining CSL in 2003.

Nicola joined the BSPP in 1987 and was a member of the team that helped launch New Disease Reports. She is currently a member of the Editorial Board for Plant Pathology.

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