- Plant Protection and Food Crops
My research centers on bacterial plant diseases in Norwegian agriculture and horticulture from a biome perspective. I frequently contribute to work exploring other plant pathogens, pests and ecosystems.
During my 6-year postdoctoral tenure track at NMBU (2023-2029), I will investigate the role of plant-associated microbiomes in plant disease. I am particularly interested in the stability and diversity of microbial communities in agricultural settings and interventions that can manipulate them effectively.
My most recent work at the Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research (NIBIO) was focused on practical and bioinformatics implementations of metabarcoding and other forms of amplicon sequencing as a tool for the detection and identification of plant pathogenic fungi, oomycetes, nematodes and bacteria, as well as invasive plant and insect species.
I have considerable experience working with Pectobacteriaceae, ubiquitous bacterial pathogens with a broad host range and the cause of potato soft rot and blackleg. In the future, I hope to get the opportunity to further investigate the insects associated with these bacteria and other generalist bacterial plant pathogens in the field, as well as the molecular mechanisms underlying these diverse associations.
I obtained my BSc and MSc from the University of Tübingen, where I discovered my passion for plant pathology at the Center for Plant Molecular Biology (ZMBP). During my PhD period (2015-2018), I studied potato soft rot in Norway under the main supervision of Prof. May Bente Brurberg (NIBIO/NMBU).