Current research focus

I am a plant pathologist with expertise in microbial plant pathogens and beneficial microbes and their interactions with plants. My current research focuses on disease management of important plant pathogens in minor crops. It is with specific interest in reducing pesticides and finding alternatives like biopesticides e.g. microbials and naturally derived compounds.

Please feel free to contact me concerning MSc thesis projects and internships

Key research topics

Identification and characterization of novel beneficial microbes, plant pathogenic fungi and oomycetes using molecular and morphological diagnostic tools. Understanding population genetics, biology and phenotyping of microbial pathogens causing diseases and their interactions with different crops (e.g. strawberry, citrus, spinach, onions, quinoa plants and others) are important topics of my research.

Previous research topics and on-going collaborations are on beneficial microbes that boost plant health or help plants against abiotic (e.g. drought and salinity) and biotic stresses (plant diseases). To better understand these interactions at various levels and to identify interesting biosignatures methods such as molecular, biochemical, physiological and multispectral and RGB imaging techniques are used.