"I am truly honoured to receive this recognition," said Emre. "I would also like to express my deepest gratitude to my late supervisor, @philippaborrill.bsky.social, who nominated me for this award. I will carry her encouragement with me throughout my journey."

2/2

Congratulations to Mustafa Emre Gül, PhD student at the @johninnescentre.bsky.social, named as one of the 20 Most Promising Young Plant Breeders in Europe 2026 by Seed World Europe! 🎉🌱

Martina and Stefan with collaborators in Nepal in a lab, wearing lab coat

A photo of colourful boats on water, with mountains in the distance in Nepal

Martin and Stefan with Nepalese colleagues on a hike, with snowy mountains in the distance

🆕 Blog! Research Scientist Dr Martina Vidmar and PhD Student Stefan Harper reflect on a recent trip to Nepal collaborating with local researchers to share DNA sequencing expertise and learn more about the microbiomes of fermented foods 🦠

➡️ buff.ly/asO7iBP

The air is full of DNA — here’s what scientists are using it for Airborne genetic material can be used to paint a picture of ecosystem health, watch for invasive species and even identify humans.

Really nice piece in Nature this week by @aislingirwin.bsky.social about airborne DNA which includes a little mention of some of our work (with Matt Clark) and the spinout of @agnosbiosciences.com.

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

PhD researcher Jade being presented the award at AGBT AG meeting in Arizona

PhD researcher Jade being presented the award at AGBT AG meeting in Arizona

The award, presented at the #Agricultural #Genomics meeting of @agbt.bsky.social - Advances in Genome Biology and Technology, recognises outstanding early-career scientists and graduate students whose work and potential is shaping the future of agricultural genomics.

PhD researcher Jade during a networking session at a recent symposium

Congratulations to PhD Researcher Jade Van Wijk who is one of the Next Gen Leadership Award Recipients at this year's #AGBTAg2026! 👏

Jade's PhD research is using air #sequencing methods to identify and monitor cereal rust fungi. 🌱🧬

@nrpdtp.bsky.social @richardmleggett.bsky.social

Social graphic promoting the article "Training during your PhD: what my first year taught me." Background image shows a town in Czechia where the author recently undertook a training course.

💡 PhD Blog: What's the importance of training during your first PhD year?

Heading into her second-year, #PhD researcher Marine has shared her insights and experience of enhancing her skills and knowledge over the last 12 months, and practical advice for other students.

Read here: buff.ly/xOhpq0S

Applications for paid summer research projects from the Royal Society of Biology are now open, closing 28th April! Work with leading plant health researchers on 8-10 week placements, including Rothamsted.

Apply now: www.rsb.org.uk/plant-health-ug-studentships.html

#studentship #internship

We are seeking enthusiastic and motivated individual to join our Wheat Transformation and Gene Editing team. This is an exciting opportunity to work with cutting edge technologies at the forefront of crop science, contributing to innovative research in wheat improvement.

Professor Philippa Borrill

We are devastated to announce that our colleague and friend Professor Philippa Borrill died over the Easter weekend following a rare immune system disorder (HLH). She was a fantastic scientist, collaborator and mentor, and a close friend to many: www.jic.ac.uk/news/profess...

New paper out! We found that zero tillage reduced macroporosity and increased penetration resistance, but enhanced connected porosity. Despite structural differences, yield was not compromised even we observed increased rooting at depth in two genotypes @dsw-isp.bsky.social

doi.org/10.1016/j.ej...

BLOG - Green Horizons: plant science careers for a food-secure future

The Delivering Sustainable Wheat virtual training course recently returned with renewed energy, offering university students an opportunity to engage directly with modern plant science

www.jic.ac.uk/blog/green-h...

#Monogram2026 Session 8 -
Regenerative, Precision, Profitable: Practices that Work

🍺 Christoph Dockter @carlsbergfondet.dk
📏 Stephen Pearce @rothamsted.bsky.social
🌾 Anisa Blower @niab-uk.bsky.social
🧬 Pooja Satpathy @leibnizipk.bsky.social

#Monogram2026 Session 7 -
Measure What Matters: Traits, Throughout, Translation

🔬 Malcolm Bennett @uonresearch.bsky.social
🖥️ Lei Ju @niab-uk.bsky.social
🌾 Maxwell Asiedu, UoN
👉 Annalene Hansen @ibers.bsky.social

Really excellent talk on day 2 of #Monogram2026 by @ecarmosilva.bsky.social on improving wheat’s resilience to heat by studying rubisco activity during photosynthesis. Funded by @dsw-isp.bsky.social

#Monogram2026 Session 6 -
From Meristem to Harvest: Building the Plant (Continued!)

❇️ Yunchuan Liu @johninnescentre.bsky.social
🌾 Kenan Tan @leibnizipk.bsky.social
🧬 Becca Testa @beccatesta.bsky.social

#Monogram2026 Session 5 -
Climate-proofing Monocots: Physiology that Delivers

🌾 Miles Curl @johninnescentre.bsky.social
❄️ Dominique Hirsz @leibnizipk.bsky.social
🍬 Catherine Famelton @cathplantsci.bsky.social @rothamsted.bsky.social

Some lovely spring sunshine in Cambridge this morning as we begin Day 2 of #Monogram2026 with a great talk from Elizabete Carmo-Silva on the effects of temperature on photosynthetic productivity 🌾

@ecarmosilva.bsky.social @dsw-isp.bsky.social #plantscience

#Monogram2026 Session 1: Staying Ahead of the Outbreak - Biotics Threats & Defences 💪

🌪️ Jade van Wijk @earlhaminst.bsky.social
🧬 Katie Hawkins @uonresearch.bsky.social
🌾 Bernice Waweru @johninnescentre.bsky.social

#Monogram2026 Session 3 -
Beyond Yield: Grain Quality & Human Nutrition

🍞 Alison Lovegrove @rothamsted.bsky.social @dsw-isp.bsky.social
🌍 Sibongile Zimba @bristolbiosci.bsky.social
🍺 Nupur Tailor @harperadamsuni.bsky.social

Year in industry student Poppy Leslie is presenting her great work on the evolution of wheat-infecting root fungi, check it out at poster 47! 🌾🍄 #CMINorwich26
@earlhaminst.bsky.social @norwichmicro.bsky.social @dsw-isp.bsky.social @mcmullan0.bsky.social

Close up of a conference poster describing the aims of the DSW research programme. Image focuses in on the logo of DSW and the Earlham Institute and John Innes Centre.

This afternoon at the #DeliveringSustainableWheat conference at @johninnescentre.bsky.social we're discussing a strand of the programme that focuses on developing sustainable data frameworks for the wheat community.

@dsw-isp.bsky.social

Dr Simon Griffiths, Group Leader and Delivering Sustainable Wheat Programme Lead, wrapping up the DSW annual meeting for 2026

Thanks to everyone who joined us at the @dsw-isp.bsky.social annual meeting today! From tackling wheat diseases to investigating the building blocks of plant growth, the event has been full of engaging discussion. To find out more about Delivering Sustainable Wheat, visit jic.link/DSW

If you are part of the wheat research community and want to share your ideas, please get in touch and fill in this survey here: wheat-tools.jic.ac.uk 🌾

Miguel Gonzalez Sanchez, JIC Research Software Engineer, presenting a poster at the DSW annual meeting

JIC Head of Informatics, Dr Burkhard Steuernagel, presenting his talk at the DSW annual meeting

Our Institute Strategic Programmes have already delivered impactful web services for the wheat community: wheatresearch.ac.uk/resources/
JIC Head of Informatics, Dr Burkhard Steuernagel, has opened discussion at the @dsw-isp.bsky.social annual meeting about ways to update, improve and add to them 👇

Identifying direct TARGETs of transcription factors in wheat Transcription factors (TFs) are key regulators of expression of numerous genes. In wheat, many gene networks remain unresolved with the identification of TF target genes being p...

Sharing new methodologies and knowledge with the community is what this meeting is all about! You can read about Emilie’s method here: dx.doi.org/10.17504/pro...

Emilie Knight, research assistant, presenting her work on a promising protoplast-based method at the DSW annual meeting

Transformed wheat protoplasts expressing GFP. The lines are from the hemacytometer that the cells are in suspension on.

We’re back at the @dsw-isp.bsky.social annual meeting this afternoon where @emilieknight.bsky.social is presenting a promising protoplast-based method to decipher gene networks in wheat. Protoplasts are living plant, bacterial, or fungal cells that have had their rigid outer cell walls removed.

Rapid response launched to tackle new yellow rust strains threatening UK wheat | John Innes Centre The UK’s wheat is under threat from a newly identified strain of the yellow rust pathogen, prompting an urgent mobilisation of research institutes to protect harvests.

More than 50% of the UK’s wheat is now vulnerable to infection from the fungal pathogen because of a newly identified strain, prompting an urgent mobilisation of research institutes to protect harvests. Read more: www.jic.ac.uk/press-releas...

PhD student Becca Testa presenting her work at the DSW annual meeting

Senescent wheat at the JIC field station in Bawburgh, 2025

PhD student Becca Testa in the glasshouses

PhD student Becca @beccatesta.bsky.social is JIC’s first speaker at @dsw-isp.bsky.social annual meeting, giving a fascinating talk on genetic regulation of wheat senescence. This stage of development informs grain nutrient content, making her research important for agronomy and global health.

Wheat rust on a leaf

Professor Diane Saunders presenting her work on wheat rust at the DSW annual meeting

Professor Diane Saunders closed today’s second @dsw-isp.bsky.social session about yellow rust and the breakdown of a key resistance gene (Yr15). Yellow rust is a wheat disease that poses a major threat to global wheat production and food security.