Jon West is one of our ’40 Faces of Plant Pathology’
BSPP members can be found in 51 different countries, with 30% of members based in countries outside of the UK. As part of the BSPPs 40th anniversary, we asked our membership to describe some things about themselves, what plant pathology challenges they would most like to see solved, and what could improve the world of plant pathology in terms of inclusivity. Click here to return to the 40 Faces Home Page.
Jon West
Institution and country of residence
Rothamsted Research
Position title
Senior Scientist
Area of expertise/study
Jon is an experienced plant pathologist and aerobiologist with expertise the epidemiology of fungal plant pathogens, pathogen dispersal, air sampling, remote sensing, diagnostic methods and management of multidisciplinary projects. His current focus is on near real-time detection of airborne spores of individual pathogen species. Jon has worked on pathogens of trees, arable crops and horticultural crops.
About your early experiences in education
I was always interested in science and nature and can recall some lessons at school when I was about eight years old almost verbatim but can’t always remember where I parked my bike or car.
If you could solve one problem in plant pathology, what would it be?
Real-time identification and quantification of airborne spores
If you could solve one issue relating to inclusivity and diversity within the field of plant pathology what would it be?
Ensuring new researchers obtain job-security and stability at a much earlier stage in their careers, which will dissuade many people from leaving the profession, which currently affects gender and diversity balance.
If you weren’t a plant pathologist, what would you be?
Garden designer
