As the Earth’s population grows and its climate changes, it is becoming clear our food systems are subject to ever increasing stresses. Moreover, eliminating food poverty, and ensuring generational food security are highly important for the delivery of social justice. Every year in the UK, fungal diseases of wheat present a significant risk to crop yield and grain quality, directly impacting the economy. Disease control is threated by the overuse of fungicides contributing to fungal crop pathogens rapidly evolving fungicide resistance.
My Masters research project, supervised by Girton fellow Prof Nik Cunniffe, aims to understand the spatial spread of fungicide resistance, through epidemiological modelling. Developing our theoretical understanding of what factors increase or slow down the rate of fungicide resistance evolution, can guide policies to encourage sustainable grower behaviours, reducing the risks to vulnerable groups within society.
Globally, wheat is a vitally important commodity crop for communities across the world. Other research at Cambridge is delivering social justice through international development by advancing decision support systems to automatically predict fungal wheat disease risk for developing nations.