Welcome to another edition of the Robigalia Roundup!
If you’re new here, Robigalia is your weekly roundup of the latest research, researchers, scholarships, and opportunities in plant pathology globally. Make sure you’re a subscriber to have these opportunities and events delivered directly to your inbox every Monday.
NOTES FROM THE HOST
Hello {{first_name | Robigalia readers}},
This Friday, I’m excited to be bringing you the next in my series of conversations with plant pathologists from around the world!
I’ll be releasing a summary of my conversation with Darryl Herron, the Team Lead of Pathogen Diagnostics and Collections at Bioeconomy Science Institute in New Zealand.
Darryl’s career has taken him from South Africa to New Zealand, and is a great example of the importance of building networks and embracing new opportunities and challenges throughout your career. We also chatted about the value and enjoyment we find in having a “side-hustle”.
While you wait, you can read the summary of my last conversation with Carlos Caceres Moreno from Nakama in Spain. The full recording is also available on YouTube, and the conversation with Darryl will be released there on Friday morning.
Now, onto this week’s edition:
I share updates on Ramularia collo-cygni
I introduce a PhD student from Heriot Watt University
I list 7 new PhD opportunities and one new postdoc opportunity
Let’s dive in!
RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS
Progress on Ramularia collo-cygni
Manon Chossegros et al.,* Hyperspectral image analysis for classification of multiple infections in wheat
Rabisa Zia et al., Barley Disease Screening: A Multiplex Digital Droplet PCR Approach for the Detection of Ramularia collo-cygni, Rhynchosporium graminicola and Pyrenophora teres
Ignacio Antonio Erreguerena et al., Assessing the Impact of Ramularia Leaf Spot on Barley: Prospects for Fungicide Protection Strategies and Weather-Based Prediction Models in Argentina
*Co-authored by this week’s Research Student of the Week
RESEARCH STUDENT OF THE WEEK
Meet Meg Burt
This week, I’d like to introduce you to Meg Burt, a PhD student at Heriot Watt University who is investigating Ramularia collo-cygni in three cereal crops.
Meg credits her passion for plant pathology to her undergraduate dissertation supervisor, Prof. Paul Ashton from Edge Hill University. During her studies, Paul introduced Meg to plant sciences and guided her in shaping her dissertation project, which ultimately led her to plant pathology.
Following the completion of her Master of Research in Plant Pathology at Edge Hill University, Meg spent several years as a Plant Pathology Research Assistant at the National Institute of Agricultural Botany (NIAB), specialising in cereal fungal pathogens.
Now pursuing her PhD, her research focuses on investigating and comparing the interactions of Ramularia collo-cygni (Rcc) in three cereal crops: barley, wheat and tritordeum (a hybrid of wheat and barley). Her project will utilise previously generated transcriptomic data to identify genes involved in plant immunity that are differentially expressed in both wheat and barley in response to Rcc.
Although she has only been doing her PhD for just over a year, Meg has already had the chance to present her research at the European Conference of Fungal Genetics. She is incredibly proud of this achievement and also appreciative of the funding that made it possible.
Plant pathology is such a wonderfully collaborative community, make as many connections as you can
Her words of advice to other plant pathologists: “Plant pathology is such a wonderfully collaborative community, make as many connections as you can! Always try to get out into the field with the growers to remember the impact of the research.”
Aside from her PhD research, Meg is a long-running DM in a Dungeons and Dragons campaign, and swears by it as a form of escapism! She also loves to weightlift for her health and to challenge herself!
Be sure to connect with Meg on LinkedIn to keep up with her research 👇
OPPORTUNITIES AND EVENTS
New plant pathology opportunities are listed below. For the full list of live opportunities and events, head to my Opportunities and Events Board using the buttons below.
New PhD/Master’s Scholarships
PhD scholarship, AI-based plant-pathogen interface engineering, University of Oxford, closes 8th January
PhD scholarship, CASE: Integrating modelling & experimental studies to strengthen fungicide resistance management, University of Warwick, closes 27th November
PhD scholarship, New Kids on the Block – engineering plant immunity for novel disease resistance, John Innes Centre, closes 2nd December
PhD scholarship, Developing synthetic microbial communities for the control of pea downy mildew, University of Worcester, apply ASAP
PhD scholarship, The biosynthesis and immunity function of lettuce sesquiterpene lactones, University of York, closes 25th November
PhD scholarship, Unlocking wheat landrace potential to improve resilience in response to major wheat rust resistance breakdown, John Innes Centre, closes 2nd December
PhD scholarship, Investigating the impact of climate change on sexual reproduction in the wheat rust fungi, John Innes Centre, closes 2nd December
New Jobs
Postdoc position on plant immunity in cereals, University of Cologne, closes 27th December
New Events/Seminars
No new events today, see open events in the event board 👇
MEME OF THE WEEK
How to scare a researcher!
— #Hugh Kearns (#@ithinkwellHugh)
6:00 AM • Oct 30, 2025
THAT’S A WRAP
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See you next Monday
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P.S. Why Robigalia? The name originates from the Ancient Roman festival dedicated to crop protection. You can read all about the history here: