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Royal Society of Biology plant health summer studentship open for applications

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A studentship looking at ways of tackling a major disease which hits wheat production is to be offered at ÌìÃÀÊÓƵ thanks to the .

It is one of a series which have been developed by the society alongside leading scientists and researchers working in the field of plant health – including the Applied Entomology Group at ÌìÃÀÊÓƵ.

The 10-week studentship will be held in person at ÌìÃÀÊÓƵ, with the chosen student being supervised by Dr Joe Roberts, Reader in Integrated Pest Management.

He said: “The student will work as part of a supportive, research-active team.

“Over the course of the placement, they will gain practical experience in greenhouse and laboratory work, including plant cultivation, aphid handling and rearing, experimental design, structured data collection, ELISA sample preparation, data management and introductory statistical analysis in R.

“They will receive day-to-day support throughout the project, take part in regular progress meetings, and finish the placement with a clean dataset, summary figures and a final presentation or short report.”

At Harper Adams, the successful student will be working on research into ways to tackle the spread of Barley yellow dwarf virus.

Dr Roberts added: “Barley yellow dwarf virus is one of the most important viral diseases of wheat, causing major economic losses and posing an ongoing challenge for lower-input cereal production.

“With the loss of neonicotinoid seed treatments and increasing resistance to pyrethroids, there is an urgent need to identify more sustainable management approaches.

“This project will test whether wheat cultivar mixtures can alter the behaviour of aphid vectors and reduce movement within crops, helping generate practical evidence for more resilient, lower-input management of the virus in UK cereals.”

The scheme is open to undergraduate students registered at a UK institution for the majority of their science degree. Students in the first year of their course are not eligible for the studentship, which is usually undertaken in the summer.

Successful students will receive £4,120 for their studentships – with each chosen to address a major plant health challenge identified by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Dr Roberts added: “Students who have taken part in similar placements have valued the opportunity to contribute to real research questions while building practical skills in experimental design, data collection and analysis.

“These projects give students a clearer sense of what applied research involves day to day, and many come away with greater confidence in both laboratory work and scientific communication.”

Applications close on April 28, with full details of how to apply .