Christine Faulkner

Professor Rob Hancock (left) and Dr Tatsuya Nobori (right)

Our Plant Proteins meeting has begun! Starting the day with his 2025 Early Career Research Award Lecture, Dr Tatsuya Nobori discussed the development of PHYTOMap, a novel method for multiplexed single-cell 3D spatial gene expression analysis in whole-mount plant tissues.

Oh Nacho - that's very kind of you to say... I hope I continue to live up to that!

You can ask my students about how annoying the fist pumping and/or welling up after their conference talks gets. 😬

Today for #AdaLovelaceDay, which celebrates the achievements of women in STEM, read about the 10 most influential women in British science history, as chosen by leading female scientists: #WomenInSTEM royalsociety.org/about-us/who...

Sure, happy to take a look!

This is betalain? ~550 Da? Is it in the cytosol? If soluble, I would expect it would pass through plasmodesmata in Arabidopsis. We can help you check if you want.

New pre-print from the team!

The manuscript is @emma-raven.bsky.social's PhD work showing that whether a leaf is a carbon sink or a carbon source influences how they execute immune responses.

Have a read!

#PlantScience
@johninnescentre.bsky.social

Identity matters: understanding spike architecture to increase grain number in wheat (UAUY_J26DTP) | Doctoral Training Partnership Wheat provides 20% of the calories and protein consumed by humans. The world population will reach 9 billion by 2050, which requires food production to more than double. Although plant breeding has…

New #PhD opportunity in the Uauy lab @johninnescentre.bsky.social.
Can we increase grain number in wheat by studying genes controlling organ identity?

#wheat #spikelet #development
biodtp.norwichresearchpark.ac.uk/projects/ide...

Vanishing Virulence: Investigating pathogenicity loss in a plant pathogenic fungus (TALBOT_T26DTP) | Doctoral Training Partnership What makes a plant killer lose its edge? This project will investigate why fungal pathogens lose virulence when they are grown in laboratory culture away from their host plant. Use cutting-edge…

New PhD opportunity in my group @thesainsburylab.bsky.social through the BBSRC NRP DTP Programme - see details of host to apply below

biodtp.norwichresearchpark.ac.uk/projects/van...

Beyond Immunity: Uncovering the Hidden Diversity of Bacterial NLRs (SCHLIMPERT_J26DTP) | Doctoral Training Partnership Join us in exploring the hidden functions of ancient immune proteins in bacteria. Bacteria, like plants and animals, have evolved sophisticated systems to detect and respond to threats.

We have a PhD opportunity available in our group @johninnescentre.bsky.social through the NRP Doctoral Training Partnership. Help us uncover the Hidden Diversity of Bacterial NLRs.

Start date: October 2026. For more information and how to apply👉 biodtp.norwichresearchpark.ac.uk/projects/bey...

Understanding Host Compatibility in the Marchantia-Phytophthora System (CARELLA_J26DTP) | Doctoral Training Partnership The fossil record demonstrates that filamentous microbes invaded ancient plant cells with intracellular hyphal structures over 450 million years ago. To this day, a rich diversity of extant land plant...

New opportunity to undertake a PhD in my group ⁦‪at the John Innes Centre - if you’re interested in plant immunity and evolution check out the link!

Rotation biology PhDs | John Innes Centre Prestigious studentships, for entry in October 2022, this multi-disciplinary PhD programme includes; plant science, microbiology, biological chemistry, applied mathematics…

www.jic.ac.uk/training-car...

John Innes Centre | Doctoral Training Partnership

And check out the other opportunities at JIC!

biodtp.norwichresearchpark.ac.uk/project-for-...

How do cells communicate when it’s hot? (FAULKNER_J26DTP) | Doctoral Training Partnership Plant cells are connected to their neighbours via ‘tubes’ called plasmodesmata, creating an interconnected cytoplasm that joins cells within and between tissues and organs.

We have a project available for 2026 NRP Doctoral Training Partnership entry (i.e. PhD studentship opportunity!)

How do cells communicate when it's hot?

Don't know? Me either! Come work with us @johninnescentre.bsky.social and figure it out

biodtp.norwichresearchpark.ac.uk/projects/how...

Rotation biology PhDs | John Innes Centre Prestigious studentships, for entry in October 2022, this multi-disciplinary PhD programme includes; plant science, microbiology, biological chemistry, applied mathematics…

Applications are now OPEN for the JIF Rotation PhD Programme

This prestigious 4-year #PhD programme trains graduate students in Plant and Microbial Sciences at the JIC, @thesainsburylab.bsky.social and @earlhaminst.bsky.social.

🗓️ Closing date - 13 November 2025

www.jic.ac.uk/training-car...

Tough call. Both clearly expressions of great respect and a strong @johninnescentre.bsky.social legacy!

Photo showing the inside atrium of the new Life and Mind Building

Oxford Biology is growing 📢

We’re appointing 3 Associate Professors in:
🌱 Plant Sciences
🦉 Animal Behaviour
🔬 Molecular Cell Biology

3 fields. 3 opportunities. One new home for Oxford Biology.

Learn more 👉 bit.ly/41S2Tc7
Apply now 👉 bit.ly/488CNW3

EVENT - Calling all teachers, A-level science classes and colleges! Registration is now open for the NBI Accessible Science Talks 2025

🗓️ Tuesday 7 October 2025

💻 Register here: jic.link/NBIAST2025

For sure great news for plant science, but it's actually *even better* news because you missed at least one! @tinaschreier.bsky.social

YouTube video by Oxford Brookes Health & Life Sciences 'Leaves & Lasers' With Professor Chris Hawes | Nature Live Talk - Natural History Museum

This is a fantastic talk by Chris Hawes @nhm-london.bsky.social.

He speaks about #PlantMicroscopy in particular, but also the History of #Microscopy.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAFZ...

Have a look at this Obituary of Chris, too:
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

#PlantScience

Awesome news Tonni! All the very best for your new adventure.

Yesterday I talked* science with modellers, mathematicians, biochemists, cell biologists and geneticists. Sound like your kind of place? Join us!

Applications for a tenure-track or tenured Group Leader ar JIC close Monday.

(*I love chatting - if you come to JIC I *will* stop you in the corridor)

@cristobaluauy.bsky.social or @brandewulff.bsky.social ?

**GROUP LEADER VACANCY**

Discovery Plant Sciences

Got burning questions about how plants grow and respond to their environment? So do we. Come join us!

#johninnescentre
#plantscijobs

Excellent!

So exciting to see greater resoluton of features long hinted at - another leap in our understanding of these enigmatic structures!
#Plasmodesmata

JIC GROUP LEADER VACANCY

We're looking for interests in areas including, but not limited to, growth and development, environmental and organism interactions, physiology, signalling and molecular processes, taking quantitative cell biological, genetic, biochemical and modelling approaches.

VACANCY

Optical Microscopy Specialist

Come work alongside the plant and microbial scientists at JIC and help us explore the biological frontier at the tissue, cell and subcellular scale!

Major funding boost to bring world leading researchers to the John Innes Centre | John Innes Centre The John Innes Centre has been awarded an equal share of the new £54 million Global Talent Fund, to attract and support leading researchers and their teams to relocate to the UK. The new Global Talent...

Exciting times to be at @johninnescentre.bsky.social !

www.jic.ac.uk/press-releas...

We’re pleased to announce two new vacancies for senior roles at our institute:

Group Leader in Discovery Plant Sciences: www.jic.ac.uk/vacancies/gr...

🗓️ Closes 25 August

Independent Fellowship in Plant-Associated Microbial Interactions: www.jic.ac.uk/vacancies/in...

🗓️ Closes 5 September