Staff

Dr David Shaw, Director of Research
My undergraduate degree, Botany, was from University of Glasgow in 1962.  I stayed on to research Phytophthora and graduated PhD in 1965.  A NATO Post-doctoral Fellowship took me to Michigan State University for two years to continue my research.  My first job was lecturing on Genetics and Plant Pathology at Bangor University.  I developed an active research group studying the genetics of Phytophthora infestans, the pathogen of late-blight disease. I retired in 2002 to take up my present post as Director of Research at SRT after seeing Sárpo varieties perform under heavy blight pressure.  Any spare time is spent either tending roses and growing fruit and vegetables or helping to sustain the Treborth Botanic Garden of Bangor University.

Simon White, Trials Manager 
I have been with the Sárvári Research Trust for nearly five years. I started as an assistant, harvesting one of the blight trials at Henfaes Research Centre. This led on to post-harvest grading and a steep learning curve taking in all aspects of late blight disease and the potato industry in general. I became an assistant to the first Trials Manager and took over full time in 2006. Currently I am managing a project to promote the growing of Sárpo potato seed in Wales. This is funded by a grant from Welsh Assembly Government under its Supply Chain Efficiency scheme. My training will continue in potato agronomy and in blight research - hopefully in a PhD programme with Bangor University.

Dr Jonathan Thompson
My interest in blight was aroused when studying Microbiology at Queen's University, Belfast.  There, my summer placement with Dr Louise Cooke (AFBI) introduced me to blight and its population biology in Northern Ireland. I was hooked and stayed to work on "Phytophthora infestans in potato tubers: Infection and transmission" successfully submitted for a PhD in June 2008.  I now research population changes in P. infestans in Great Britain for SRT on a project funded by the Potato Council Ltd.

Debbie Evans, Research Assistant
A degree in Agricultural Science from Leeds University was followed by a career as a veterinary microbiologist for ADAS in Bangor. On the closure of the Veterinary Investigation Centre in 1991, I spent 2 years as Quality Control Laboratory Manager with Euro DPC. working with immunodiagnostic kits.  I then took a post at Bangor University as a Research Technician in the School of Biological Sciences. Initially I worked on cell-cycle genetics in Aspergillus nidulans and then joined the Potato Blight Group in Biological Sciences with David Shaw in 2001. I have subsequently been employed part-time as a Research Assistant for SRT. In my spare time, I am a keen Field Mycologist and do surveys and workshops on grassland fungi. My special interest is in plant pathogens, especially the rusts and the powdery and downy mildews. This fits in very well with our work on Phytophthora infestans.

The Team
We are often assisted during busy periods in the field and in the lab by students wanting to gain experience in experimental plant science. Juan, a Leonardo Da Vinci Fellow from Spain, helped us during July and August, 2008. Anthony, our work-experience student that year, is now completing his A-levels. He is aiming at a career in biology.