These conference reports are written by the beneficiaries of our travel fund.
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Plant Pathology 2023
Birmingham, UK
6th – 8th September 2023
I am very grateful for BSPP travel funding which enabled me to attend the meeting. The conference was held in the beautiful city of Birmingham. There was a large attendance of around 120 people, and a huge number of fascinating sessions to listen. One talk which inspired me was a key-note talk by John Mansfield from Imperial College, London. His talk ‘Fifty fruitful years from phytoalexins to effectors, with an emphasis on function-progress made and questions unanswered. It showed how he was dedicated over the years in plant pathology research. Several talks encouraged me to look further into my existing work. For instance, Jonathan West gave an interesting talk highlighting the pro and cons of different surveillance and monitoring approaches to detect sporadic pathogens.
The most beneficial aspect of the conference for me was when I presented my poster (pictured) on Molecular Phylogeny and Pathogenicity of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. elaedis from Oil Palm Plantations in Cameroon. I interacted with other scientists, particularly during my poster session, and was pleased to receive interesting feedback and ideas on my own poster, including suggestions for future experiments. I also was able to connect with scientists working on complementary areas to my own, to seek their advice or discuss potential collaborations.
Another beneficial aspect of the conference was attending the BSPP meeting and having my voice heard regarding the plight of BSPP members from Africa to have reduced registration fees for meetings and increased travel grants to attend meetings. As a BSPP ambassador from Cameroon, I attended the ambassadorial meeting where I met other ambassadors from other countries physically and some online together with BSPP executives. We presented on the promotion we have done for BSPP and discussed on the way forward to promote BSPP and solicit for new members.
Overall, I had a very positive and useful experience at the conference, and am grateful for the opportunity to attend.
Prof. Tonjock Rosemary Kinge
The University of Bamenda, Cameroon
BSPP Ambassador
