Robigalia Roundup #22

Hello Robigalia Reader and welcome to another week of Robigalia! If you’re new here, Robigalia is your weekly roundup of the latest research, researchers, scholarships, and opportunities in plant pathology globally.

This week, we learn about the control of stomatal opening in response to pathogens and drought, and we introduce a PhD student from the University of York focussing on the bacterium Ralstonia solanacearum. As always, Robigalia subscribers can access my online database with summaries of Robigalia featured articles.

Keep reading for the latest updates!

Weekly Plant Pathology Highlights

• Regulation of Stomatal Responses to Pathogen and Drought Stress by the F-Box Protein AtSKIP5
  

• Stomatal-based immunity differentiation across vascular plant lineages
  

• Single plant NLR is able to recognize effectors from a wide range of adapted and non-adapted pathogens
  

• Sexual recombination in cereal rust fungi: Knowns and unknowns of pathogen evolution and adaptation

Research Student of the Week

⭐ Meet Karla Cardenas Gomez ⭐

This week's student of the week is Karla Cardenas Gomez. Karla has been passionate about science since childhood. Inspired by undergraduate lectures in her home country of Colombia, she embarked on a career in plant pathology. This passion led her to Australia, where she completed her master's studies at the University of Melbourne under the supervision of Professor Paul Taylor. Subsequently, she moved to the UK to pursue her PhD at the University of York.

Karla’s research focuses on unravelling the mechanisms of adaptation of the phytopathogenic bacterium Ralstonia solanacearum to suboptimal temperatures. R. solanacearum causes lethal wilts and rots in hundreds of plant species globally. Specifically, she is investigating how the tropical strain K60, isolated from tomato, adapts to survive at low temperatures. Her methodology includes in-vitro experimental evolution and in-planta experiments in both primary and non-host plants.

Her PhD journey has already yielded significant achievements. She is one of the authors of a published research article about the epidemiology of R. solanacearum in Europe. Additionally, she delivered an oral presentation at the recent ICPP 2023 in Lyon, France.

Looking ahead, Karla aspires to undertake postdoctoral research to further explore plant pathogens. In the long term, she envisions a career in teaching, an aspect of academia she particularly enjoys. Her advice to fellow plant pathology students is to attend talks, seminars, and conferences whenever possible, as these provide excellent networking opportunities and sources of inspiration.

Interestingly, Karla’s love for art nearly led her to study art history. However, her passion for science ultimately prevailed, guiding her towards her current path in plant pathology.

If you want to find out more about Karla’s research, you can reach here via LinkedIn.

🌟 Want to feature your research? Fill out the EOI to feature in Robigalia 🌟 

PhD Scholarships and Jobs

New opportunities below are indicated by two asterisks at the start of the entry **

PhD/Masters Scholarships

• ** PhD position in Lipopeptide-Based Biocontrol Strategies Against Septoria Tritici Blotch in Wheat

• ** The digital inspector: using artificial intelligence to identify plant diseases, Newcastle University, UK

• Apply for a scholarship at The Sainsbury Laboratory for a one-year taught MSc in Global Plant Health

• PhD in plant virology with the Mehta lab

Jobs

• ** Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Genomics and biosecurity at University of Canberra (Closes 6th April)

• The CCDM at Curtin University are seeking a Research Associate/Fellow to help tackle powdery mildew in wheat (closes 27th March)

• 2-year postdoc position in fruit pathology, with a mixture of field trials and basic molecular mycology in Windsor, CT (no close date listed)

• Short term postdoctoral position in epidemiological modelling of plant disease at INRAE (Open until filled)

• Predoctoral Internship Nobori Lab, UK focussing on plant immunity research at single-cell & spatial resolution (Closing from 25th April)

• The Eskalen lab is seeking a qualified (junior) candidate to assist with field fungicide spray trials across California

• Assistant or Associate Professor and Extension Specialist - Ornamental Plant Pathology (No closing date listed)

• Research Assistant Professor in mycotoxin fungal biology in the Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana (Open until position is filled)

• The Plant Pathology Department at the University of Florida is advertising for a Assistant or Associate Professor in Plant Pathology (Open until position filled)

Other News and Opportunities

New opportunities below are indicated by two asterisks at the start of the entry **

• ** Australian and New Zealand PhD students and ECRs, don’t miss your chance to apply for a research grant from The Australasian Mycological Society

• ** Enter the AIPP-IAAS Italia video award “Plant protection in a minute” V Edition

• ** Register now for the Annual conference of the Oomycete Molecular Genetics Network 

• Register for Plant Pathology 2025 and Early Careers Plant Pathology 2025, the main annual meetings of the British Society for Plant Pathology

• Register for the 20th Congress on Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions, in Cologne, Germany​

• Save the date for the Australasian myrtle rust conference happening 16th - 17th June 2025 in Auckland, NZ

• 40 travel awards will be awarded to eligible APS Student Members to support their attendance to present their research at Plant Health 2025 in Hawaii (Closing 28th March)

•  The Art in Phytopathology competition is BACK! Showcase your passion for plant diseases through your artistic talents (Closes 1st April)

• Apply to attend the 17th International Cereal Rusts and Powdery Mildews Conference in Vancouver which offers opportunities for early-career researchers to share their research with the agricultural community

• Register for the 8th International Workshop on Resistance Mechanisms and Breeding in forest trees in Canada, June 1-6, 2025

• Register for the 25th Australasian Plant Pathology Society conference in Sydney in May 2025. They are also offering bursaries for ECRs!

• Submit your abstracts by 31st March for the Congress of the Mediterranean Phytopathological Union happening July 6 - 10th in Italy

• Register your interest for the 17th Australasian Plant Breeding Conference in Sydney in June 2025

Meme of the week

Before you go…

• Like or didn’t like this newsletter format? Let me know if the comments!

• Think a friend (or two) could benefit from reading? I’d love it if you could share this link with them.

Until next week,

Alyssa