About the BSPP Board
The Board of BSPP meets four times each year to plan for the annual Presidential conference and other scientific meetings, to oversee awards for bursaries, fellowships and travel grants (this is where most of the Society’s expenditure goes), to agree the policy for Society publications, to discuss and agree the annual budget and, generally, to manage the affairs of the Society. The Board also discusses and develops new ideas and initiatives to promote and support plant pathologists. BSPP is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) registered with the Charity Commission. To meet the legal requirements of the Charity Commission a short Annual General Meeting, at which the President provides feedback to members on the Society’s year, is usually held each year in conjunction with the Presidential conference. All of this may sound a little dry but Board meetings are conducted in a relaxed manner and everyone is encouraged to contribute ideas to ensure the wellbeing of the Society.
The Board comprises a President, who chairs Board meetings, a President Elect, a first Vice-President, second Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary, Programme Secretary, Membership Secretary and three other elected members. The President, President Elect and Vice-Presidents each serve for one year, with the Vice-President then becoming President Elect and the President Elect taking over as President. The Treasurer usually serves for five years, and the Secretary, Programme Secretary, Membership Secretary and other elected Board members each serve for three years. Elected members are nominated by members of the Society and, if the number of nominated members exceeds the number of Board vacancies, elections are held, usually in the Autumn, and each member of the Society is invited to cast a vote. The Senior Editors of the Society’s publications, Plant Pathology, Molecular Plant Pathology, New Disease Reports and the Newsletter, together with the Society’s Webmanager, Policy and Publicity Officer and Administrator usually attend Board meetings too.
Current Board Members
Prof. Robert Jackson
BSPP PresidentRob Jackson holds the BIFoR Chair in Tree Pathology at the Birmingham Institute of Forest Research/School of Biosciences at the University of Birmingham. He has more than 25 years’ experience working on plant pathology problems. Research topics include the study of bacterial pathogenesis, most recently in tree pathology studying Horse Chestnut and Oak; the role of surfactants in bacterial motility and biocontrol; the identification and characterisation of bacteriophage for biocontrol; and analysis of how bacteria can kill aphids. Read more here: Professor Robert Jackson – School of Biosciences – University of Birmingham
Email:president@bspp.org.uk
Address:School of Biosciences, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT
Prof. Gail Preston
BSPP President-Elect and Chair of the Fellowship CommitteeGail Preston is a Professor of Plant-Microbe Interactions, Director of the BBSRC-funded Oxford Interdisciplinary Bioscience Doctoral Training Partnership at the University of Oxford and Deputy Director of the University of Oxford’s Doctoral Training Centre. https://preston.web.ox.ac.uk/. She developed a fascination for plant pathology while studying Natural Sciences at the University of Cambridge, where she was encouraged to read E. C. Large’s classic (and highly recommended) history of plant pathology “The Advance of the Fungi” and introduced to the rapidly emerging field of molecular plant pathology. Read more here: EEDI committee members – BSPP – The British Society for Plant Pathology
Email:presidentelect@bspp.org.uk
Tel:+44 (0) 1865 275132 (Plants)
Prof. Matthew Dickinson
BSPP Vice President and Chair of the Travel CommitteeMatt studied for his PhD in the Virus Research Department at the John Innes Centre in Norwich before moving to the CSIRO Division of Plant Industry in Canberra for three years as a research fellow to work on the cereal rust fungi. He then returned to the Sainsbury Laboratory at the John Innes Centre to work on resistance genes in tomato against Cladosporium fulvum before taking up his current appointment in 1992 as a lecturer in molecular plant pathology at the University of Nottingham. With the rust fungi remaining his primary area of interest, particularly the molecular basis of pathogenicity and the molecular genetics of the cereal rust fungi, he is also involved in a number of other projects on plant pathogenic fungi and also the Phytoplasmas, both at Nottingham and in collaborations particularly with IACR-Rothamsted. Matt joined the BSPP in the early 1990’s and has been to many of its Conferences over the years.
Tel:+44 (0)115 951 3236
Fax:+44 (0)115 951 6334
Email:vicepresident@bspp.org.uk
Address:School of Biosciences, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington Campus, Loughborough LE12 5RD, UK
Prof. Saskia Hogenhout
BSPP Vice President
Dr Trisna Tungadi
SecretaryTrisna is a Lecturer in Plant Health at Keele University, UK. Her research aims to understand plant responses to viruses and how this influences vector behaviour by utilising a range of techniques in molecular biology, chemical ecology, and entomology. She has a particular interest to study plant-virus-vector interaction at the landscape level, specifically in virus and vector movement between crop and non-crop plants. The aim is to utilise the knowledge gained to improve pest management practices. Read more here: Trisna Tungadi – Keele University
Tel:01732 523734
Email:secretary@bspp.org.uk
Prof. Dawn Arnold
TreasurerArea of Research Expertise: Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions focusing on pathogenic Pseudomonas specifically investigating the role of horizontal gene transfer in the evolution of pathogenicity. More recently I have also been carrying out research into tree pathogens, in particular the bacteria that are associated with Acute Oak Decline in the UK.
Tel:+44 (0) 1952 815047
Email:treasurer@bspp.org.uk
Address:Harper Adams, Newport, Shropshire, United Kingdom, TF10 8NB
Megan Richardson
Membership secretaryMegan joined Forest Research in July 2022 to work on the BAC-STOP project as a Molecular Biologist/Plant Pathologist. The project aims to save threatened oak and protect them for future generations by investigating the microbial and vector biology as well as the community impact of Acute Oak Decline (AOD). Megan’s research involves the use of both traditional bacterial culturing methods and molecular methods to investigate the UK native buprestid beetle Agrilus biguttatus’ interactions with AOD associated bacteria. Read more here: Megan Richardson – Forest Research
Email:membership@bspp.org.uk
Prof. Richard Oliver
Programme secretary and Chair of the Event Organisation FundEmail:meetings@bspp.org.uk
Elected Board Members
Dr Stephen Parnell (2021-2023)
Promotions and Social Media ManagerStephen is an epidemiologist interested in the use of epidemiological models to inform surveillance and management strategies in plant health. He graduated with a BSc (Hons) in Ecological Science from the University of Edinburgh in 2001. In his final year dissertation he worked with Dr Gareth Hughes using GIS and spatial statistics to analyse data on citrus canker epidemics in Florida. In 2002 he began a PhD at Rothamsted and the Department of Plant Sciences at the University of Cambridge in mathematical biology with Prof Chris Gilligan and Dr Frank van den Bosch. Stephens thesis focused on the population dynamics and management of fungicide resistance in crop protection. Read more here: Dr Stephen Parnell (warwick.ac.uk)
Email:socialmedia@bspp.org.uk
Dr Mojgan Rabiey (2022-2024)
Education SecretaryCrops and trees are attacked by bacterial pathogens, causing huge economic losses. Current control measures for many of these diseases are limited and relatively ineffective. As we are facing a global rise in antibiotic resistance in bacterial plant diseases, there is an urgent need to develop novel measures to control pathogens of important crops. One promising strategy is using naturally occurring bacteriophages for treating plant bacterial diseases. Bacteriophages (phages) are viruses that, as opposed to antibiotics, only infect specific strains of bacteria, and in lab studies can significantly control bacterial populations. In my lab we are developing phage therapy to treat bacterial diseases of trees and important crops. We also investigate the evolution of pathogenic bacteria and bacteriophages to understand the genetic mechanism of bacteriophage-bacteria interaction, and how bacteriophages can be utilised as an alternative to antibiotics to control bacterial diseases in plants. Read more here: Dr Mojgan Rabiey is a senior postdoctoral fellow at The University of Warwick.
Email:education@bspp.org.uk
Address:School of Life Sciences, The University of Warwick
Dr Jorunn Bos (2022-2024)
Outreach Officer and Chair of the Plant Pathology Promotion FundTel: :+44 (0)344 928 5428
Email::outreach@bspp.org.uk
Address: :The James Hutton Institute Invergowrie Dundee DD2 5DA Scotland UK
Invited to Attend Board Meetings
Prof. Ralph Dean
Editor in Chief, Molecular Plant PathologyProf. Dean’s research program primarily focuses on Magnaporthe oryzae, the causal agent of rice blast disease. Worldwide, this disease is estimated to kill enough rice annually to feed over 60 million people. Much work hascentered on the signaling pathways, particularly cAMP in regulating the initiation and development of appressorium formation, a specialized cell required by M. oryzae and many other pathogenic fungi for attachment to and penetration of host tissues. Following completion of the genome sequence and deep transcriptional profiling, his research has focused on functional and post genomic approaches to develop a systems view of fungal pathogenesis. Read more here: https://www.cifr.ncsu.edu/ralph-dean/
Tel:+1 919 513-0020
Email:Ralph_dean@ncsu.edu
Address:Center for Integrated Fungal Research, Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA
Dr Dilantha Fernando
Senior editor of Plant Pathology
Dr Gerard Clover
Senior Editor, New Disease ReportsGerard provides management and strategic leadership to the Centre for Forest Protection which comprises 5 science groups and more than 80 staff.
Gerard role is to ensure that the Centre delivers excellent science to contribute to the fulfilment of Forest Research’s vision. The Centre undertakes research to deliver scientific evidence, data and services in support of sustainable forestry.
Gerard has previously held management and leadership roles in scientific and regulatory organisations in the UK and New Zealand, including Fera, the Royal Horticultural Society, and the Ministry for Primary Industries. He also worked for the IPPC Secretariat coordinating the development of international standards.
Dr Jennifer Hodgetts
Newsletter EditorJennifer Hodgetts is a post-doctoral researcher at the Food and Environment Research Agency (Fera), formerly Central Science Laboratory (CSL), in York. Fera is a government research organisation and an executive agency of Defra.
After a BSc (Hons) in Biochemisty and Microbiology (Staffordshire University) and an MSc in Molecular Biology (Staffordshire University), she undertook a PhD on the taxonomy and diagnostics of phytoplasmas at the University of Nottingham linked with CSL. This project had an applied emphasis and used a taxonomic approach to develop new diagnostic tools which have now been implemented in the labs at Fera.
Her current position as a molecular plant pathologist primarily focuses on the development of novel diagnostic tools principally for plant and insect pathogens, but also includes DNA barcoding, recombinant protein work and plant resistance screening.
Tel:+44 (0)1775 715 000
Email:bsppnews@bspp.org.uk
Address:Elsoms Seeds Ltd., Pinchbeck Road, Spalding, Lincolnshire, PE11 1QG, UK
Dr William Kay
Webmanager and Data ControllerI am a post-doc currently working at the University of Oxford. My research surrounds the bacteria found in the casing layer of button mushroom farms.
I was appointed as BSPP web manager in January 2014. I have good experience in web development and hope to use these skills to help BSPP maintain a modern and highly functional web presence. I was also the recipient of a BSPP summer bursary in 2011 which I spent with Dr Richard Cooper at the University of Bath.
When not in the greenhouse or the lab, I like to spend my time cooking, walking, camping, foraging, watching films, playing sports such as cricket, and 5-a-side football (badly).
Email:webmanager@bspp.org.uk
Dr Jennie Brierley
Society AdministratorI have a part-time research position at the James Hutton Institute, Dundee. My main research interests are developing the use of molecular diagnostic techniques for the detection and quantification of seed and soil-borne potato pathogens: both as a research tool to investigate disease epidemiology, and in supporting the management of potatoes by quantifying disease risk. At present I am focusing on the effect of crop management practices, in particular, the effect of soil organic matter content on the introduction and persistence of pathogens through a crop rotation.
Email:admin@bspp.org.uk
Dr Sophia Bellamy
Policy and Publicity OfficerIn my role as the Publicity and Communications Officer for the British Society for Plant Pathology (BSPP), I work with board members to effectively communicate developments in plant pathology, from event updates to cutting-edge research. Please feel free to reach out to explore potential collaborations and promotional opportunities with the BSPP. My academic journey led to the completion of a PhD at Reading University, where I conducted research at NIAB in East Malling. My work focused on biocontrol methods for brown rot management in cherries, following prior research on bacterial canker (Pseudomonas syringae) on cherry trees.
