Louise Johns

My interests include plant pathology, mycology, molecular biology and genetics. These all link to my desire to advance our current understanding for a purpose, namely improving food production.

I undertook my PhD at the University of Bath, investigating nutrient homeostasis in the Fusarium Head Blight fungus Fusarium graminearum. As well as honing my practical molecular biology skills, I have been teaching and supervising undergraduate and masters students in the lab. I have presented my work, both to my department and at conferences such as the BSPP presidential meeting 2021 for which I won the J Colhoun poster prize. During lockdown, I was first author of a collaborative review on the importance of fungal nutrient sensing and acquisition to disease in plant and human hosts (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fbr.2021.01.002).

My interests in plant pathology, crop production and ecology spill over into my free time. As an undergraduate I attended the CROP Summer School at Harper Adams, secured a bursary from Bristol Naturalists’ Society to attend an angiosperm ID course, and I volunteered as a research assistant at Bristol and Exeter Universities during the summer vacations. I also love identifying and learning about the wild plants, fungi, lichens and insects I see when out walking.