L-R: Steve Rawsthorne, Abi Brock, Elena Bidash, Ian Tsang, Anisa Blower, Anya Heathcote.
TMAF is supporting five new PhD students. TMAF Board member Dr Steve Rawsthorne met all five PhD students as they begin their training in October 2022.
The five students will receive broader training alongside their immediate academic studies through the BBSRC-funded Collaborative Training Partnership – Sustainable Agricultural Innovation (CTP-SAI), in which TMAF is a Charity/Industrial Partner, or the University of Cambridge’s bespoke Doctoral Training Programme. Steve met the students at NIAB while attending a training session for students and supervisors on Mental Toughness.
The students and their topics of study are:
- Abi Brock – Improving Nitrogen Use Efficiency in Cereal Crops for Sustainable Food Production with Drs Matthew Milner (NIAB) and Jeongmin Choi (Crop Science Centre). Morley PhD Studentship.
- Anya Heathcote – Increasing Climate Resiliency and Yield Stability in Wheat through Genetic Improvement of Root Systems with Dr Eric Ober (NIAB) and Prof Julia Davies (University of Cambridge). Morley PhD Studentship.
- Anisa Blower – Exploration of NIAB’s Synthetic Wheat as a New Source of Disease Resistance for Effective Genetic Control of Septoria tritici Blotch Disease with Drs Kostya Kanyuka (NIAB) and Rumiana Ray (University of Nottingham). CTP-SAI Student.
- Ian Tsang – Supporting Future Wheat Improvement Underpinned by Novel Genetic Diversity for Root Traits with Drs Fiona Leigh (NIAB) and Jonathan Atkinson (University of Nottingham). CTP-SAI Student.
- Elena Bidash – Manipulating Meiotic Recombination for Crop Breeding with Drs Elena Bidash (Crop Science Centre) and Abhimanyu Sarkar (NIAB). AgriFood Charities Partnership (AFCP) Student.
Alongside their NIAB/CSC/University supervisors, Steve is a formal supervisor ensuring close connection between the students and TMAF and AFCP. All the students will spend time with TMAF to enhance their broader training.
Starting five TMAF-sponsored students, with two on TMAF’s own fully funded Morley PhD Studentship, is a big moment for TMAF. The TMAF Board has agreed to fund a further Morley PhD Student to start in 2023, and sees this programme as an important, continued part of its funding portfolio towards improving agricultural innovation. We look forward to a continuity of interaction with this cohort of talented individuals.