Angus
Bucknell

Inferring function and engineering form

Bristol-born and Birmingham-educated, I'm a PhD candidate in Prof. Nick Talbot's lab at The Sainsbury Laboratory (TSL) in Norwich. I work on the blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae, one of the most destructive threats to the world's cereal crops.

During infection M. oryzae secretes hundreds of diverse virulence proteins known as effectors into the plant. These proteins promote pathogenicity and suppress the host plant's immune system through many diverse mechanisms. Through structural modelling of these effectors, I predict their role and function which can then be tested within the lab.

Alongside high throughput structural modelling of these effectors, I'm designing new-to-nature proteins to bind them. I'm using bespoke effector-binding proteins to engineer novel plant immunity and as research tools to probe previously intractable questions.