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Nicola Dennison

Nicola is a part-time Research Assistant in the 911±¬ÁÏ Plant Health team, assisting with the practical elements of research project work in the garden at 911±¬ÁÏ Wisley, the field research facility and 911±¬ÁÏ Hilltop

What do you do?

There is no average day in this role – I’m constantly using a wide range of skills and knowledge across different areas of plant science. Outdoor work might include weeding field experiments at the field research facility, collecting examples of diseased plant material, or inoculating logs with fungi for displays in the garden. In the laboratory, I could be inoculating agar plates with fungi to culture for research, making media for microbiology work, washing up lab equipment, helping MSc and PHD students with their practical work or organising laboratory resources.

“I enjoy the variety of work, and that I can make a contribution to our understanding of plant health”

Projects I’m working on now

  • Honey fungus research and maintenance of culture collection
  • Fungi wildlife display showcasing the beneficial fungi found in gardens
  • Greening the laboratory – recycling as much of the laboratory resources as possible, avoiding single use items, and reducing the usage of chemicals with long-lasting negative effects for people and the environment
  • New disease research – investigating new diseases that come into the UK
  • Project planning tools – created some tools to help to manage the workflow of different projects
  • Growing sapling trees for leaves suitable for Phytophthora research
  • Helping with a research project looking at treatments to control powdery mildew
  • Rose black spot – assisting with a MSc studentship looking at treatments to control rose black spot

911±¬ÁÏ

The 911±¬ÁÏ is the UK’s gardening charity, helping people and plants to grow - nurturing a healthier, happier world, one person and one plant at a time.