Robigalia Roundup XLI

Hello {{first_name | Robigalia Readers}},

Welcome back to another edition of the Robigalia Roundup!

Running a newsletter while working full-time and trying to finish PhD papers certainly takes its toll. So, this week I followed Dibya’s (this week’s Research Student of the Week) advice and took a few days off to head back to WA and visit my beautiful family.

It’s been a fantastic weekend to focus on what matters most to me, including reflecting on the future of the newsletter. Growing this network and providing students with a platform to showcase their research has been incredibly rewarding. I have plenty of new ideas, and I’m excited to keep expanding this platform for all of you.

Onto this week’s newsletter. I have seven new job listings included below, and I’m excited to introduce a PhD researcher from the Australian National University.

Let’s dive in!

⭐ Meet Dibya Bhatta ⭐

As an undergraduate student in agriculture at Tribhuvan University, Dibya developed a strong interest in plant diseases and actively organised volunteer plant health camps for farmers around the university. She noticed early on that most of the questions farmers asked were about diseases and insect pests, which drew her to the challenge of helping them find answers.

During her Master’s, she investigated the role of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) in mitigating heavy metal stress in rice. Despite the shift away from plant pathology, her passion consistently leaned towards it. Dibya continued to pursue this interest by enrolling in multiple plant pathology courses during her Master’s, which ultimately led her to begin a PhD in plant pathology.

Now in her PhD at the Australian National University, she is studying the interaction between the fungal pathogen Zymoseptoria tritici and wheat. The pathogen causes a disease in wheat known as Septoria tritici blotch, causing significant yield losses in wheat-growing regions worldwide, including Australia. Using a forward genetics approach, Dibya’s work specifically focuses on identifying a specific Avr (avirulence) gene in Z. tritici and how the corresponding resistance gene in wheat recognises it. By identifying and understanding this Avr gene, the aim is to predict how the pathogen evolves and how it may overcome plant resistance.

I love Dibya’s advice for fellow plant pathologists: “Take care of your mental and physical health. Burnout helps no one, not you, not your pathogen, not your thesis. It’s okay to take breaks.”

In Dibya’s free time, she makes videos for her YouTube channel which includes the series "Science Heroes" and "Candid with Candidates: Unfiltered PhD Life." If you’re interested in being featured there, please let Dibya know.

If you would like to learn more about Dibya’s research, you can contact her via LinkedIn or post your questions in the comments.

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

Until next week,

Alyssa

** Disclaimer: No dogs were harmed in the production of this newsletter.