United Kingdom
June 3, 2021
A young Rothamsted post-doctoral scientist has won funding for a research project that seeks to find new ways of fighting fungal disease in wheat using microbes. Vanessa Nessner Kavamura is one of 24 scientists who have had their projects chosen from over 600 proposals submitted for the Bayer 2021 Grants4Ag scheme.
Dr. Vanessa Kavamura - Rothamsted Post-Doctoral Scientist
“I was thrilled to have my project chosen!” said Kavamura. “As a postdoc scientist, it’s not often that we get to develop our own project, making this a great opportunity to develop my research ideas. Bayer offers a lot of support from its experienced team, and I hope I have some exciting results which could lead to additional future collaborations”.
The 24 proposals, designed to accelerate precision agriculture, reduce chemicals to enhance soil health or fight pests to preserve biodiversity, will receive grants (ranging from €5,000 to €15,000) to fund their projects. Bayer will also pair each winner with one of the company’s own scientists to provide guidance on each project as it progresses.
Dr Kavamura investigates the potentially useful chemical compounds produced by microbes to fight disease-causing organisms.
“Current conventional agriculture relies heavily on the use of agrochemicals such as fertilizers, fungicides, insecticides and pesticides,” she said. “However, microbes associated with plants can boost their growth and performance via different mechanisms. My research looks at how these microbes can suppress pathogens by the production of specific metabolites, competition for resources or stimulation of the host’s immune system. I am particularly interested in effective control measures for the wheat disease Fusarium head blight (FHB). Currently there are few commercial products available, and the use of biological control agents is a promising option.”
Bayer Grants4Ag provides both financial support and scientific guidance to develop their ideas to advance agriculture. For Bayer, those grants could end up as an investment in a larger, longer-term collaborations with the scientist.
“Ideas from this year’s winners represent all research and development areas in crop science,” says Phil Taylor, Open Innovation Lead for Bayer’s Crop Science Division. “We love the idea that, given support, these research proposals could develop into the next advancement that helps farmers.”
In partnership with Halo, a partnering platform for scientific innovation, Bayer received more than 600 proposals from 39 countries around the world during a five-week submission window this past fall. Bayer Grants4Ag awardees retain all intellectual property rights to their projects.
You can read Dr Kavamura’s Halo blog post about her work here.
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