Dr Helen Fones (Eyles) (she/her)

About me:

I'm a plant pathologist currently working on:

The interaction of Zymoseptoria tritici and its host plant, wheat, including:
Epiphytic phenotypes and their underlying genetic determinants
Nutrient uptake on the leaf surface
Sensing the leaf surface
Biofilm formation on the leaf surface 

Fungal stress resistance, including:
Heat and UV resistance
Fungicide resistance
 
Microbial Ecology, including:
Interactions between Zymoseptoria and other phyllosphere microbes
Effects of climate change on plant microbiomes and conequences for disease risk.

My main research interests are:
- Fungal and bacterial plant pathogens
- Plant and fungal defence signaling, stress signaling and crosstalk
- Climate change and food security
- Crop protection
- Metal hyperaccumulating plants

Qualifications:

2006-2011: University of Oxford, UK.

DPhil. - ‘The Ecological and Evolutionary Significance of Disease Resistance in Metal Hyperaccumulating Plants.’ Supervised by Dr Gail M. Preston and Prof J. Andrew C. Smith, Department of Plant Sciences, University of Oxford, UK.

2005-2006: University of Birmingham, UK.

MSc (Distinction) ‘Conservation and Utilisation of Plant Genetic Resources’

2002-2005: St. Hugh’s College, University of Oxford, UK.

BA Biological Sciences (First Class Honours).

Career:

2020-present: University of Exeter, UK. UKRI Future Leader's Fellowship Holder: "Epiphytic Ecology and Nutrition for Control of a Wheat Pathogen"

2016-2020: University of Exeter, UK. Research Fellow with Prof Sarah Gurr.

2013-2016: Postdoctoral Research Assistant with Prof Sarah Gurr.

In these roles I was  involved in a number of projects including work on the lifecycle of the ash dieback pathogen, Hymenoscyphus fraxineus and the banana wilt pathogen Fusarium oxysporum, as well as plant defence response to these fungi; the testing of novel antifungals; studying the effect of abiotic and biotic stresses on the susceptibility of wheat to fungal diseases, and investigation of the infection strategies of and natural variation in the wheat pathogen Zymoseptoria tritici.

2011-2013: Freie Universität, Berlin, Germany.

2012-2013: Postdoctoral Researcher, AG Romeis; continuation of previous project

2011-2012: POINT Fellow, Dahlem Centre of Plant Science; AG Romeis. '“Nutritional Stress” and the Priming of Plant Defence’: in this project I investigated the possibility that “nutritional stress” by deficiency or excess zinc or nitrogen may alter defence signalling through cross-talk via shared signalling components such as ROS, protein kinases or plant hormones.