Summary
PhD candidate in molecular plant-microbe interactions at The Sainsbury Laboratory, using novel protein design and structural bioinformatics to decode effector function in the fungal blast pathogen Magnaporthe oryzae. Background in fungal transposon biology (Starships) and horizontal gene transfer. Active in public engagement and science communication.
Research Experience
PhD Candidate
Oct 2023 — present
The Sainsbury Laboratory, Norwich, UK · Supervisor: Prof. Nick Talbot
- Novel protein design in the Magnaporthe oryzae pathosystem
PhD Intern
Jun 2025 — Aug 2025
Sequence Analysis UK, Norwich, UK · Supervisor: Dr. Lisa Crossman
- 3-month placement outside primary field of research, as part of the doctoral training programme
- Analysed metagenome-assembled genomes as part of the WISH Fiji project
MSci Researcher
Sep 2022 — May 2023
School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, UK · Supervisor: Dr. Megan McDonald
- Designed custom plasmids to screen for transposition events in Bipolaris sorokiniana
- Determined putative transposase expression via qPCR
VBC Summer School Student
Jul 2022 — Aug 2022
Gregor Mendel Institute, Vienna BioCenter, AT · Supervisor: Dr. Arturo Marí-Ordóñez
- Constructed retrotransposon phylogenies via Bash and R
- Assessed methylation landscape of Duckweeds via bisulfite PCR
Research Intern
Jul 2021 — Sep 2021
School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, UK · Supervisor: Dr. Marco Catoni
- Determined consensus sequence of a transposon subgroup via MUSCLE
- Compared transposon frequencies within tree species using R
Education
PhD in Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions
Oct 2023 — present
University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK
Thesis: Investigating Magnaporthe oryzae effectors through de novo protein binders
Funded through the NRPDTP (BBSRC grant BB/T008717/1)
Funded through the NRPDTP (BBSRC grant BB/T008717/1)
MSci in Biosciences (1:1 with Honours)
2019 — 2023
University of Birmingham, UK
Publications & Preprints
* indicates co-authorship
1.
Xi Y., Bucknell A. H.,
Watson J. L., Maqbool A.,
Bennett J. W., Goreshnik I.,
Vafeados D., Garcia Sanchez M.,
Knight G., Zdrzalek R.,
Rodney C. A., Saado I.,
Stone C. E., Turley E. K.,
Yu D. S., Gentle A.,
Ryder L. S., Yan X., Were V.,
Heddle J. G., Baker D.,
Emmrich P. M. F., Talbot N. J.,
Banfield M. J. & Bentham A. R.
Computational design of de novo
integrated domains enables rational control of
pathogen effector recognition in plant NLR immune
receptors.
2.
Tagirdzhanova G., Brown N. E.,
Bucknell A. H.,
Cameron E. S., Finn R. D.,
Blaxter M., McDonald M. C.,
Gluck-Thaler E. & Talbot N. J.
Tangerine: a new family of Starships from
lichen-forming fungi.
3.
Bucknell A. H.*,
Wilson H. M.*,
Gonçalves do Santos K. C.,
Simpfendorfer S., Milgate A.,
Germain H., Solomon P. S.,
Bentham A. R. & McDonald M. C.
Sanctuary: A Starship transposon
facilitating the movement of the virulence
factor ToxA in fungal wheat pathogens.
4.
Tagirdzhanova G., Scharnagl K.,
Sahu N., Yan X.,
Bucknell A. H.,
Bentham A. R., Jégousse C.,
Ament-Velàsquez S. L.,
Brännström I. O., Johannesson H.,
MacLean D. & Talbot N. J.
Complexity of the lichen symbiosis revealed by
metagenome and transcriptome analysis of
Xanthoria parietina.
5.
Bucknell A. H. & McDonald M. C. That's no moon,
it's a Starship: Giant transposons driving fungal
horizontal gene transfer.
Conferences
Oral presentations
—
AI-driven protein design to understand effector function within the Magnaporthe oryzae rice pathosystem — 33rd Fungal Genetics Conference, Pacific Grove, US (2026)
—
Engineering new-to-nature immune sensors for novel recognition of effectors in plant pathosystems — 20th IS-MPMI Congress, Cologne, DE (2025)
—
Developing new-to-nature protein binders for the M. oryzae pathosystem — Advancing Plant Health Forum, Norwich, UK (2024)
—
Using structural homology predictions to infer biological function of effector proteins during plant infections — NRPDTP Summer Conference, Norwich, UK (2024)
—
In silico characterisation of Magnaporthe effector proteins — Magnafest, Pacific Grove, US (2024)
Poster presentations
—
AI-driven protein design to understand effector function within the Magnaporthe oryzae rice pathosystem — Mendel Early Career Symposium, Vienna, AT (2026).
Zenodo
—
Structural bioinformatics to understand effector function within the Magnaporthe oryzae rice pathosystem — 33rd Fungal Genetics Conference, Pacific Grove, US (2026).
Zenodo
—
Engineering new-to-nature immune sensors for novel recognition of Magnaporthe oryzae — 20th IS-MPMI Congress, Cologne, DE (2025).
Zenodo
—
Finding function through form: predicting effector function in the blast fungus through structural biology — 32nd Fungal Genetics Conference, Pacific Grove, US (2024).
Zenodo
Committee Roles & Service
Departmental service
—
Member of the TSL MSc Selection Committee (2026)
—
Member of the NRPDTP Summer Conference Organisation Committee (2026)
—
Member of the TSL Awards Selection Committee (2025)
—
Treasurer of the TSL Student Committee (2024–2025)
Peer review
—
Reviewer for Nature Communications
Science Communication
Public engagement
—
Volunteered at the TSL stall at the Norwich Science Festival (2024)
—
Presented an accessible science talk at the JIC Year 10 Summer Camp (2024)
—
Presented at Pint of Science on "Using shape to find function" in Norwich (2024)
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Presented at Pint of Science on "From one small step to a giant leap between fungi" in Birmingham (2023)
Stakeholder engagement
—
Presented to senior civil servants from the Environment Agency and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (2025)
Skills
Laboratory
Molecular cloning & plasmid design, qPCR, bisulfite PCR, sequence alignment (MUSCLE), metagenomics
Computational
Structural bioinformatics & protein structure prediction, de novo protein design, Python, Julia, R, Bash, phylogenetics