Undergraduate Vacation Bursary – Projects Funded in 2025
LINKS: Main Student Information 2025 | Project Descriptions | Student Applications
Click the titles to read more.
Once you have made your decision for your top 2 projects, click here to apply online.
Title of Project: Exploring Thermal Adaptation in Zymoseptoria tritici: linking phenotypic and genomic insights
Project supervisor: Dr. Hannah Blyth
Institute: Rothamsted Research
Title of Project: Vector-virus-crop interactions: Exploring and unravelling system complexities
Project supervisor: Dr. Daniel Leybourne
Institute: The University of Liverpool
Title of Project: How does the fungal pathogen Zymoseptoria tritici cause disease on wheat?
Project supervisor: Dr. Erin Hill
Institute: The Australian National University
Title of Project: AI predicts cross-kingdom interactions at the plant-pathogen interface
Project supervisor: Dr. Jie Huang
Institute: The University of Oxford
Title of Project: Investigating the role of helitrons in the emergence of novel Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lactucae isolates
Project supervisor: Dr. Jordan Price
Institute: NIAB
Title of Project: Investigating the emerging threat to oilseed rape posed by the newly identified phoma stem canker pathogen subclade Leptosphaeria biglobosa ‘canadensis’
Project supervisor: Prof. Yongju Huang
Institute: The University of Hertfordshire
Title of Project: Using in planta assays to elucidate the impact of a unique iron acquisition system on the virulence of a potato pathogen, Pectobacterium atrosepticum
Project supervisor: Dr. Ashleigh Holmes
Institute: The James Hutton Institute
Title of Project: Leaf surface properties impact pathogenic and commensal microbial populations of the barley phyllosphere
Project supervisor: Dr. Lorena Rangel
Institute: The James Hutton Institute
Title of Project: Investigating Rhizoctonia cerealis: Prevalence, History, and Fungicide Sensitivity
Project supervisor: Mr. Fareed Bhatti
Institute: Rothamsted Research
Title of Project: Divergent Membrane Trafficking Of Plant Immune Receptors
Project supervisor: Dr. Tolga Bozkurt
Institute: Imperial College London
Title of Project: Investigating the role of bacterial endosymbionts in aphid transmission of Barley yellow dwarf virus
Project supervisor: Dr. Trisna Tungadi
Institute: Keele University
Title of Project: Parasitic root galls & symbiotic root nodules – A comparison of how plant colonisers can manipulate plant organ development
Project supervisor: Dr. Katharina schiessl
Institute: The University of Cambridge
Title of Project: Does the wheat pathogen Zymoseptoria tritici hijack host hormone signalling?
Project supervisor: Dr. Angela Feechan
Institute: Heriot-Watt University
Title of Project: Mechanisms underlying extreme dormancy in potato cyst nematodes
Project supervisor: Dr. Catherine Lilley
Institute: University of Leeds
Title of Project: Investigating Microbial Interactions in the Wheat Phyllosphere: Uncovering the Influence of Epiphytes on Zymoseptoria tritici Pathogenicity
Project supervisor: Dr. Graham Thomas
Institute: University of Exeter
Once you have made your decision for your top 2 projects, click here to apply online.
