Lauren Farwell
BSc, PhD
Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Molecular Plant Pathology
Agriculture, Health and Environment Department
Dr Lauren Farwell joined NRI as a Postdoctoral Researcher in 2024. Her work focuses on investigating the ecology and diversity of plant pathogens, using novel monitoring and diagnostic techniques in the field and researching sustainable management strategies against such pathogens. Lauren is a member of NRI’s Agriculture, Health and Environment Department, working in the Plant Health and Postharvest Science research themes.
Before joining NRI, Lauren was a PhD student with Cranfield University in the Applied Mycology department, and was based at the Pest and Pathogen Ecology department at NIAB East Malling. While based at NIAB East Malling for four years, Lauren researched the epidemiology of Cladosporium on raspberry using sequencing to determine species present, field screens to determine fruit susceptibility, metabarcoding to assess the epicarp microbiome and performed field assays of biological control agents and resistant varieties to determine their efficacy. During her time at NIAB East Malling, Lauren also worked as a research technician, working on pathology and bio-stimulant experiments across various horticultural crops.
Lauren holds a BSc in Plant Science (University of Bristol) and a PhD on the epidemiology and management of Cladosporium on raspberry (Cranfield University in partnership with NIAB East Malling).
Lauren’s expertise includes pathogenicity assays, DNA barcoding, amplicon sequencing, biological control agent assays, airborne spore sampling and detection and the development of diagnostic assays.
- Farwell, L.H., Papp-Rupar, M., Deakin, G., Magan, N. and Xu, X. (2024) Investigating the inoculum dynamics of Cladosporium on the surface of raspberry fruits and in the air. Environmental Microbiology, 26(3), pp. e16613. https://enviromicro-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1462-2920.16613?af=R
- Farwell, L.H., Deakin, G., Harris, A.L., Passey, T., Verheecke-Vaessen, C., Magan, N. and Xu, X. (2023) Cladosporium Species: The Predominant Species Present on Raspberries from the U.K. and Spain and Their Ability to Cause Skin and Stigmata Infections. Horticulturae, 9(2), pp. 128. https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae9020128
Lauren is a plant pathologist specialising in the study of emerging horticultural pathogens to aid in disease diagnostics, monitoring and control. Her core research interests are fungi and oomycetes, but she also has interest in bacterial pathogens. Lauren has interest in pathosystems across horticulture, including fungi such as Botrytis, Cladosporium, Rhizopus, Mucor, Colletotrichum and Alternaria¸ and oomycete pathogens such as Phytophthora and Pythium.
Lauren’s research interests span fundamental and applied science, asking how pathogens have evolved adaptations to infect their host, how to monitor the inoculum of these pathogens on their hosts and in the air, and then subsequently how to manage these pathogens in the field.
Lauren will be using comparative genomics to determine loci important for pesticide resistance to aid in the monitoring of resistant pathogens in the field.
An enhanced toolkit for Botrytis control in protected cropping | BBSRC PACE Horticulture | PDRA | 2024 – 2028
This research aims to develop an advanced toolbox for precision monitoring and integrated disease management of Botrytis in protected strawberry.
To do this, we will be surveying the genomes of Botrytis isolates to investigate characteristics such as fungicide resistance, and understanding how species have co-evolved with their hosts. We will be continuing the development of in-field diagnostic tools to detect subspecific variants of Botrytis. We will also search for new genetic sources of Botrytis resistance in cultivated and wild strawberries, and finally assess the efficacy and persistence of biological controls to manage Botrytis infections in the field.
Student Prize from the Worshipful Company of Fruiterers 2023
Dr Lauren Farwell joined NRI as a Postdoctoral Researcher in 2024. Her work focuses on investigating the ecology and diversity of plant pathogens, using novel monitoring and diagnostic techniques in the field and researching sustainable management strategies against such pathogens. Lauren is a member of NRI’s Agriculture, Health and Environment Department, working in the Plant Health and Postharvest Science research themes.
Before joining NRI, Lauren was a PhD student with Cranfield University in the Applied Mycology department, and was based at the Pest and Pathogen Ecology department at NIAB East Malling. While based at NIAB East Malling for four years, Lauren researched the epidemiology of Cladosporium on raspberry using sequencing to determine species present, field screens to determine fruit susceptibility, metabarcoding to assess the epicarp microbiome and performed field assays of biological control agents and resistant varieties to determine their efficacy. During her time at NIAB East Malling, Lauren also worked as a research technician, working on pathology and bio-stimulant experiments across various horticultural crops.
Lauren holds a BSc in Plant Science (University of Bristol) and a PhD on the epidemiology and management of Cladosporium on raspberry (Cranfield University in partnership with NIAB East Malling).
Lauren’s expertise includes pathogenicity assays, DNA barcoding, amplicon sequencing, biological control agent assays, airborne spore sampling and detection and the development of diagnostic assays.
- Farwell, L.H., Papp-Rupar, M., Deakin, G., Magan, N. and Xu, X. (2024) Investigating the inoculum dynamics of Cladosporium on the surface of raspberry fruits and in the air. Environmental Microbiology, 26(3), pp. e16613. https://enviromicro-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1462-2920.16613?af=R
- Farwell, L.H., Deakin, G., Harris, A.L., Passey, T., Verheecke-Vaessen, C., Magan, N. and Xu, X. (2023) Cladosporium Species: The Predominant Species Present on Raspberries from the U.K. and Spain and Their Ability to Cause Skin and Stigmata Infections. Horticulturae, 9(2), pp. 128. https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae9020128
Lauren is a plant pathologist specialising in the study of emerging horticultural pathogens to aid in disease diagnostics, monitoring and control. Her core research interests are fungi and oomycetes, but she also has interest in bacterial pathogens. Lauren has interest in pathosystems across horticulture, including fungi such as Botrytis, Cladosporium, Rhizopus, Mucor, Colletotrichum and Alternaria¸ and oomycete pathogens such as Phytophthora and Pythium.
Lauren’s research interests span fundamental and applied science, asking how pathogens have evolved adaptations to infect their host, how to monitor the inoculum of these pathogens on their hosts and in the air, and then subsequently how to manage these pathogens in the field.
Lauren will be using comparative genomics to determine loci important for pesticide resistance to aid in the monitoring of resistant pathogens in the field.
An enhanced toolkit for Botrytis control in protected cropping | BBSRC PACE Horticulture | PDRA | 2024 – 2028
This research aims to develop an advanced toolbox for precision monitoring and integrated disease management of Botrytis in protected strawberry.
To do this, we will be surveying the genomes of Botrytis isolates to investigate characteristics such as fungicide resistance, and understanding how species have co-evolved with their hosts. We will be continuing the development of in-field diagnostic tools to detect subspecific variants of Botrytis. We will also search for new genetic sources of Botrytis resistance in cultivated and wild strawberries, and finally assess the efficacy and persistence of biological controls to manage Botrytis infections in the field.
Student Prize from the Worshipful Company of Fruiterers 2023