Hello!

Hi! I’m a postdoctoral fellow at the Environmental Genomics group at the University of Kiel and Max Planck Institute of Evolutionary Biology.

I have a deep passion for understanding molecular virulence mechanisms of fungal effector proteins, from their interaction with plant susceptible targets, to their recognition by plant immunity proteins and their potential role in manipulation the plant microbiome.

I believe that an understanding of the diverse roles a single fungal effector can play will enable us to better engineer plant resistance, focusing on broad-function effectors that interact with the multiple layers of plant defence.

Interests
  • Functional diversification of fungal effectors.
  • Fungal effectors role in plant cell surface immunity.
  • Fungal effectors role in manipulation of the host microbiome.
Education
  • PhD in Biological Sciences, 2020-2024

    University of Auckland

  • MSc in Biological Sciences, 2017-2019

    University of Auckland

  • BSc in Biology, 2011-2016

    Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia

Experience

 
 
 
 
 
University of Kiel & Max Planck Institute of Evolutionary Biology
Postdoctoral Fellow
Jun 2024 – Present Kiel, Germany
  • Understanding functional diversity of effectors in Zymoseptoria tritici in wheat immunity and microbiome manipulation.
 
 
 
 
 
University of Auckland
PhD in Biological Sciences
Oct 2020 – Oct 2024 Auckland, New Zealand
  • Unravelling the molecular virulence mechanisms of Neonectria ditissima, a fungal pathogen of apple

Posters

Understanding the antimicrobial role of the fungal effector AvrStb6.
This poster was presented at the 17th European Conference on Fungal Genetics, Dublin, Ireland.
Effector proteins required for virulence of Neonectria ditissima, a fungal pathogen of apple.
This poster was presented at the 16th European Conference on Fungal Genetics, Innsbruck, Austria.
CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing to characterise virulence genes on Neonectria ditissima, a necrotrophic fungal pathogen of apple.
This poster was presented virtually at the 31st Fungal Genetics Conference, ASILOMAR, CA, USA.