How day-to-day research training and support is provided:You will initially be trained by me alongside our local science support staff in the lab. Further day-to-day experimental support to be provided by me and the wider supervisory and research team and I’ll be your main point of contact on a daily basis.

Supervision style: Directive support: B / Training structure: 6

How often PhD students see you in a timetabled group meeting: At least once a week

Other research groups that PhD students will have the opportunity to frequently interact with: We meet every other month within our atmospheric emissions research group, where the team present their findings, share their work and seek areas of collaboration. At the North Wyke site of Rothamsted the Net Zero and Resilient Farming directorate get together every Wednesday to talk informally about their work and share coffee and cakes and the same group meet monthly for more formal science area presentations and general updates.

How often you meet with your PhD students 1-1 formally outside of group meetings (i.e. meetings of >30 minutes): At least once a week; mixture of virtual and in person.

Expected working pattern (based on a full-time student): At least within core hours (10-4) and other time to be managed around this. Some rota work with other members of the research group. Due to the nature of the research, there may be some weekend and evening working.

How the academic supervisor supports the PhD project: During the project, the student will be embedded into Dr Charlotte Lloyd's research group and will spend time in the lab, supported by Dr Charlotte Lloyd and her other research staff while in Bristol. She will also meet the student with the other supervisors once every two weeks online.

Notice needed for feedback on work (based on a 5000 word report): 1-2 weeks

Communication: Available to e-mail me every day. My working week is Monday to Thursday but there will be a member of the team you can e-mail every day. I will avoid contacting you outside of working hours, but if I do please be aware that I do not expect responses outside working hours. Meetings will need to be arranged in advance. Welcome to drop in if my door is open, but encourage a meeting to be arranged first (even if for later that day).

Research Group website >>

How day-to-day research training and support is provided: At Rothamsted Research, the student will initially be trained by myself, working within the Weed Molecular Biology and Wheat-Pathogenomics teams, supported by staff from Laboratory Support and Horticultural & Controlled Environment teams when and if applicable. Day-to-day experimental support will be provided by all supervisors or members of their teams as appropriate.

At the University of Exeter, the student will be trained by Dr Helen Fones (Eyles), who will provide access to a collection of >50 GFP-tagged Zt isolates, including lab reference isolates and isolates recently collected in SW UK, plus wheat cultivars as required. During Rotation project 1, she will provide training in bioimaging techniques such as confocal microscopy and cryo-SEM, fungal quantitation methods for infected plant material, and Zt virulence and pathogenicity assays; she will provide ongoing support in these methodologies as required throughout the project and the student will always be welcome to visit her lab and attend lab meetings in Exeter, especially when refining methods related to these skills. This will give access to expert and peer support from HFE’s group.

Supervision style: Directive support: C / Training structure: 6

How often PhD students see you in a timetabled group meeting: At least once a fortnight

Other research groups that PhD students will have the opportunity to frequently interact with:

The student will be fully embedded at Rothamsted within both the Weed Molecular Biology and Wheat-Pathogenomics teams, who share office and laboratory space, as well as materials, methods, and machinery. Members of the Weed Molecular Biology team are invited to and regularly attend the weekly Wheat-Pathogenomics team lab meetings. Therefore, there is ample opportunity you to interact with a diverse range of talented researchers working on various aspects of Weed or Wheat Biology, Genomics, and Plant-Pathogen Interactions. The student would also be expected to work closely with members of the plant biology research grouping within the Biosciences department at the University of Exeter and engage with the Microbes and Disease research theme there.

Dr Fones (Eyles)'s lab group meet fortnightly, with lab meetings focused on research updates and collaborative troubleshooting; Dr Fones (Eyles) has an open-door policy and encourages group members to work with her and each other on challenges and to work with researchers within and beyond her research group to develop new skills. Dr Fones (Eyles)'s group also attends monthly wider meetings of Exeter plant scientists and are encouraged to present their research there, in our Research Theme and at conferences, with a strong emphasis on sharing techniques and establishing collaborations. Group members are included in collaborator meetings according to their interests.

Both myself and Dr Fones (Eyles) encourage their group to get involved in Outreach (eg Pint of Science, Soapbox Science, STEM Ambassador Experience) and Research Culture work within the Biosciences Department at the University of Exeter (e.g. Dr Fones (Eyles)'s PDRF sits on the M&D theme steering group) and at Rothamsted Research (e.g Rothamsted Sport and Social Club).

How often you meet with your PhD students 1-1 formally outside of group meetings (i.e. meetings of >30 minutes): At least once per week; In person.

Expected working pattern (based on a full-time student): As a manager I prefer that the work is completed rather than hours accounted for. Much of the work will be hands-on and require regular maintenance; therefore, it is expected that the student is present in the laboratory / glasshouse during the core hours of 10:00 to 16:00 and additional hours to make up a standard working week of 37 hours. However, the nature of plant-pathogen work means that additional evening and weekend time may be required in order to ensure smooth running and completion of the project.

How the academic supervisor supports the PhD project: As mentioned above the student will be fully embedded within both the Weed Molecular Biology and Wheat-Pathogenomics Teams at Rothamsted. Both the main supervisor – myself – and the second Rothamsted supervisor – Dr Jason Rudd – are committed to engaging with the student on a regular basis and providing the training and resources the student will require and attending regular project meetings. In addition to providing essential technical and experimental support, the Academic Supervisors – Dr Helen Eyles and Dr Michael Deeks – are committed to providing the pastoral and academic supervision that is required for the successful completion of the PhD project. This includes regularly scheduled formal meetings alongside informal meetings when required .

Notice needed for feedback on work (based on a 5000 word report): 1-2 weeks

Communication: I have an Open Door policy and when not travelling is regularly in the office Monday – Friday for at least the core hours of 10:00 to 16:00. I am open and honest with my working time, ensuring that my work calendar is up-to-date, accessible and available for colleagues to put meetings into. Although there are times when I cannot be disturbed, if approached when unavailable, I ensure I make time to trouble-shoot and problem-solve as quickly as possible when free.

Research Group website >>

How day-to-day research training and support is provided: New students are not allowed to undertake laboratory experiments until they have had individual training and demonstrated sufficient competency in the task. The supervisory teams research groups consist of highly trained individuals across a range of disciplines that new students will engage with on an ad hoc basis. Supervisory team laboratories are overseen by specific PDRA's, with DW and IC acting as lab managers for their respective facilities at RRes who will be on hand to provide additional training. The student will be required to undertake mandatory H&S training before starting work. The student will be assigned a specific PDRA (GA, associate supervisor) who will be their day-to-day point of contact for practical laboratory work.

Supervision style: Directive support: B / Training structure: 9

How often PhD students see you in a timetabled group meeting: At least once a fortnight

Other research groups that PhD students will have the opportunity to frequently interact with: We host weekly Chemical Ecology, Molecular Microbial Ecology and Bass/Kuijper group meetings where staff/students present data (totalling 57 students, PDRAs and group leaders). Smaller meetings focused on specific challenges, problem-solving, KE activities and fostering collaboration. The supervisory team will meet with the student in a 1-to-1 meeting weekly for personalised support. While at RRes, the student will be able to interact with other PhD students within the Chemical Ecology and Molecular Microbial Ecology groups on a daily basis. Furthermore, there is an active PhD community at RRes (from a variety of different DTPs and disciplinary backgrounds) who regularly meet up outside of working hours for social interactions and peer support. It is expected that the student will present their work and engage with other students during the annual RRes PhD symposium alongside the corresponding SWBio event. There is a wide social basis with PhD students meeting regularly outside of working hours. There are a wide range of support networks available and signposted at both RRes and Exeter.

How often you meet with your PhD students 1-1 formally outside of group meetings (i.e. meetings of >30 minutes): At least once per week; mixture of virtual and in person.

Expected working pattern (based on a full-time student): We would expect students to work within core hours (10-4; however we are flexible on this depending on the individuals working arrangement agreements). There may be periods of time when longer working hours are required (e.g. field collection seasons) when seasonal time constraints are in effect. It is expected that out of hours working will be extremely rare throughout the project; on occasions where it is required, this will be assessed on an individual basis. There is flexibility for students to undertake home/offsite working with the prior agreement of their supervisors.

How the academic supervisor supports the PhD project: Supervisor 3: Ian Clark (IC); Rothamsted Second Supervisor – IC will be involved in the weekly project meetings with the student to provide support and guidance. IC and DW groups work collaboratively on a daily basis and so the student will be integrated into both. Supervisor 4: Dr Godfrey Apangu (GA); PDRA Rothamsted associate supervisor – GA will be involved on a day-to-day basis as the designated point of contact for practical work. GA will also be involved in all project meetings to guide the project. Supervisor 5: Dr Bram Kuijper (BK); Second academic supervisor – BK will be invited to attend regular project meetings (minimum of 1 per quarter). The whole project team will aim to have at least two fully in person meeting (held alternatively between RRes and Exeter) per year.

Notice needed for feedback on work (based on a 5000 word report): 1-2 weeks

Communication: The supervisory team are available by e-mail every working day and can be contacted out of office via mobile phone via a group WhatsApp that the student will have the option of joining. This WhatsApp group facilitates interactions between the group members for social, work and in the case of emergencies. It is preferable that meetings are arranged in advance, but on the spot discussions are available too. The supervisory team operate an 'open-door policy', whereby students can speak to the supervisors at any time without requiring pre-booked meetings; the designated meetings times are used to ensure a guaranteed timeslot.

Research Group website >>

How day-to-day research training and support is provided: Lawrence Bramham (PDRA) and I will provide day-to-day supervision throughout the PhD with further supervision from the other supervisors. Assistance will be provided by PDRAs and PhD students in the groups at RRes and UoE. Weekly meetings will take place with the main supervisor, myself, and the Assistant Supervisor, Lawrence Bramham. Monthly meetings will take place with the wider supervisory team, with additional meetings when necessary. The student will be encouraged to reach out to UoE supervisors and wider networks to forge research links beyond the confines of the CEG and WPT RRes groups, enabling continuation of the research between both sites and greater awareness of linked work elsewhere.

Supervision style: Directive support: B / Training structure: 10

How often PhD students see you in a timetabled group meeting: At least once a week

Other research groups that PhD students will have the opportunity to frequently interact with: The student will join two large groups at RRes (Chemical Ecology and Wheat Pathogenomics), both of which contain a large number of fellow PhD students. RRes PhD students are encouraged to mix, both professionally and socially; this is facilitated through a strong early career researcher network, and Rothamsted Sports and Social Club Committee. The student will also benefit from the interactions with the UoE supervisors’ groups, and their links to other research groups, such as the Penryn Genomics cluster (PenGen) and the Evolution Subject group which they collaborate with.

How often you meet with your PhD students 1-1 formally outside of group meetings (i.e. meetings of >30 minutes): At least once a fortnight; in person.

Expected working pattern (based on a full-time student): Students will be expected to maintain our normal core hours of 09:00-17:00 on-site, unless alternative arrangements are requested and deemed suitable, for example occasional online / home working whilst maintaining core hours. Out-of-hours (OoH) working is discouraged however, in certain circumstances and with prior approval / appropriate risk assessments completed, this can be facilitated. Representative instances of approved OoH work have been time course-based experiments or sampling, and aphid culture maintenance needing to be performed after other work. At RRes, any OoH work is monitored via a system wherein emergency contact details and expected departure time are inputted, after which precautionary steps are enacted to ensure safety of the individual(s) if they have not confirmed site departure.

How the academic supervisor supports the PhD project: The second supervisor, will support the PhD project by providing mentorship to the student. They will act as a champion for the student’s career development and training needs. In this regard, they will be able to advise the student on the wealth of resources and opportunities available for this at UoE and how these can be accessed.

Notice needed for feedback on work (based on a 5000 word report): 3-4 weeks

Communication: At RRes, at least one individual from the supervisory team will be available daily. This would be through emails or coming to their office / desk. We have core hours for staff and when staff are off-site the calendar system will update this status. Meetings will be arranged weekly with the Main and Assistant Supervisors and monthly with the wider supervisory team. However, RRes operate on an ‘open door’ policy with many staff and students occupying open plan office spaces; the student will always be welcome to drop by for informal conversations and queries. Communication is key to effective science and wider collaborations, and encouraged within the PhD community. The student will be motivated to reach out to the academic supervisors, maintaining regular catchup meetings and participation in other group meetings for their valued inputs.

Research Group website >>

How day-to-day research training and support is provided: You will initially be trained and mentored by me. Day to day experimental support will be provided by the senior post-doc and they will also be your main point of contact on a daily basis.

Supervision style: Directive support: B / Training structure: 7

How often PhD students see you in a timetabled group meeting: At least once a week

Other research groups that PhD students will have the opportunity to frequently interact with:

The wheat pathogenomics team (WPT) holds a weekly joint 1. 5 hour lab meeting and a monthly joint 1 hour journal club which brings together all the members of the Fusarium-wheat group led by myself, the Zymoseptoria-wheat group led by Jason Rudd, the Take-all-wheat group led by Nida Ghori and virus-aphid-wheat group led by Lawrence Bramham at Rothamsted. In addition, at both meetings there is regular attendance by a senior Rothamsted bioinformatician as well as PhD students and PDRAs from the soil microbiome group lead by Tim Mauchline and from the epidemiology/aerobiology team lead by Jon West. Both regular meetings provide very vibrant forums for students to present and discuss latest research findings, learn about newly emerging techniques and scientific approaches, hear reports back from the national and international conferences attended by the WPT team members and to collectively solve current and anticipated lab problems. Both meetings have remained hybrid to ensure maximum participation and engagement and to accommodate flexible work patterns. All these groups have interconnecting labs and adjoining shared lab spaces and communal equipment and facilities. Therefore the student has access to specialist training by a far wide cohort of additional researchers as and when required.

Twice per year the WPT holds joint research days (one in person and the other online) with all the other groups that comprise Work Package 2: Delivering Resilience to Biotic Threats in the BBSRC ISP Delivering Sustainable Wheat (DSW). This is a great way to connect all the WPT members and especially the students and ERCs with the Rust – wheat group led by Diane Saunders and the Fusarium – wheat group Paul Nicholson from the John Innes Centre, the field Wheat Pathology group lead by Phil Howe from NIAB, Cambridge, as well as the Pathogen Adaption and Evolution group led by Mark McMullen and the Aerobiology and Bioinformatics group led by Richard Leggett from the Earlham Institute. These joint WP2 DSW research meetings are framed around the overall project objectives and include presenting and discussing the latest research findings from each group, discussing new ways to use the existing and emerging large ‘omics’ datasets more collaboratively and planning different ways to deliver new types of project impact and training.

The Mezzanine plant research lab at the University of Exeter consists of 6 research groups including Nicholas Smirnoff (physiologist and biochemist), Vinod Kumar (plant stress responses), Helen Eyles (plant pathologist and project co-supervisor), Hans-Wilhelm Nuetzmann (epigenetics and control of plant/fungal gene expression) and Ulrike Bauer (biophysicist specialising in plant surface properties and diversity). This highly interdisciplinary team of plant scientists meet weekly with a monthly internal seminar series that stretches beyond the lab to connect with other plant researchers across Biosciences and other departments/faculties. You will have the opportunity to participate and present within this series and network with a very broad mix of plant scientists. Furthermore, as part of this project you will interact with the MRC Centre for Medical Mycology and the Living Systems Institute, two prestigious centres of multidisciplinary research at the University of Exeter. The MD group has multiple collaborative projects with both organisations.

How often you meet with your PhD students 1-1 formally outside of group meetings (i.e. meetings of >30 minutes): At least once a fortnight; mixture of virtual and in person.

Expected working pattern (based on a full-time student):

At Rothamsted, the core work hours are 9.30 – 4.30 and all other time is arranged around these hours. Based on local equipment and growth room availability some rotation of work patterns around other research team members will be necessary. The availability of microscope time is based on a booking system in the Bioimaging unit and will require rota work with others at Rothamsted. Due to the nature of the research at some stages in the PhD studies their may be the need to work some weekends or into the evenings to set up or complete ongoing experiments.

Equivalent core hours are in place at the University of Exeter. Working in the laboratory during the evenings and weekends is not a requirement of rotation project 1 but it is recognised that some patterns of working (preferred by the student) may require out-of-hours working, especially when ensuring that microbes and plants are properly cared for prior to experimentation during core hours. The low-risk activities of this project allow flexible working as long as co-workers operate a buddy system and appropriate risk assessments are undertaken.

How the academic supervisor supports the PhD project: They will be available for weekly meetings (in person during the Exeter rotation project and via Teams/Zoom during the main project). The frequency of meetings during the main project can be modified according to the preferences of the student, varying project needs and patterns agreed with the wider supervisory team. The weekly pattern has been highly productive during previous academic supervision arrangements. Specific areas of support (beyond the training of rotation project 1) will be in co-designing experiments to understand both host and fungal cell biology, microscopy data analysis and facilitating the introduction of mathematical modelling to develop the second microfluidic device.

Notice needed for feedback on work (based on a 5000 word report): < 1 week

Communication: Available to e-mail every day. When on leave, travelling for work or attending conferences/workshops/offsite meetings there will be a member of the team you can e-mail every day. I may contact you outside of working hours but I do not expect responses outside working hours. Most meetings whether in person or online will need to be arranged in advance. However, if my door is open, I welcome you to drop in. Whereas if the points to be explained / discussed are substantial I encourage a meeting to be arranged first (even if for later that day).

Research Group website >>

How day-to-day research training and support is provided: Health and Safety training will be provided at both Rothamsted and the University of Bristol. Training in essential lab skills will be provided by the supervisory team. Day-to-day supervision will be provided by a PDRA (GT) in the Rothamsted co-supervisor`s group, who will also be the main point of contact on a daily basis. Other PDRAs and PhD students will provide assistance in the laboratories where required, helping the PhD student to become a team player.

Supervision style: Directive support: A / Training structure: 10

How often PhD students see you in a timetabled group meeting: At least once a week

Other research groups that PhD students will have the opportunity to frequently interact with: There is a weekly Chemical Ecology group meeting at Rothamsted, which will be very useful for the student to take part in. It is an excellent opportunity to learn about the lab dynamics and techniques. The Chemical Ecology group covers a broad range of study systems, and lab members are very approachable and helpful. There are monthly meetings in the Protecting Crops and the Environment Strategic Area at Rothamsted, where researchers give updates on their projects, which will provide the opportunity for the student to interact with other members of different research clusters, which may align with the PhD project.

How often you meet with your PhD students 1-1 formally outside of group meetings (i.e. meetings of >30 minutes): At least once a month; mixture of virtual and in person.

Expected working pattern (based on a full-time student): At least within core hours (9-5.30) and other time to be managed around this. Some rota work with other members of the research group. Due to the nature of the research, there may be some weekend and evening working.

How the academic supervisor supports the PhD project: Meeting between all supervisors every month. The student will spend some time during the PhD with the second supervisors' research group.

Notice needed for feedback on work (based on a 5000 word report): 1-2 weeks

Communication: Available to e-mail every day. The supervisors work regularly during the day and there will be a member of the team you can e-mail every day. I may contact you outside of working hours but I do not expect responses outside working hours. Meetings will need to be arranged in advance. Welcome to drop in if my door is open, but encourage a meeting to be arranged first (even if for later that day).

Research Group website >>

How day-to-day research training and support is provided: Initial training will be provided by myself and an experienced post-doc within my team. Lab work will be carried out in a large open-plan laboratory with expert advice and assistance on hand. Training will also be provided by the plant transformation and genome editing team. Plus my door is always open!

Supervision style: Directive support: C / Training structure: 7

How often PhD students see you in a timetabled group meeting: At least once a week

Other research groups that PhD students will have the opportunity to frequently interact with: You will meet regularly with the wheat transformation team. We have good links with other groups within the Sustainable Soils and Crops Section, led by Prof. Martin Broadley, as well as other wheat groups across the institute, including the plant/pathogens interaction team led by Prof. Kim Hammond-Kosack. We also work with a farmers group, plant breeders and food businesses.

How often you meet with your PhD students 1-1 formally outside of group meetings (i.e. meetings of >30 minutes): At least once per week; in person.

Expected working pattern (based on a full-time student): Rothamsted's working hours are 9am to 5.30pm Monday to Thursday and 9am to 5pm on Friday. Most students also do some work on weekends and evenings when necessary. However, we are flexible with respect to fitting work time around experiments and recognise the importance of a work/life balance.

How the academic supervisor supports the PhD project: Many of the SWBio training modules and get-togethers are in Bristol or one of the other participating universities close by. This provides regular opportunities to meet the academic supervisor for progress updates. The academic supervisor will also ensure that the student is up-to date with forms/reports etc. required by the university.

Notice needed for feedback on work (based on a 5000 word report): < 1 week

Communication: The team communicates mainly via MS TEAMS, and you can contact me via that platform at any time. We also regularly use email and occasionally Zoom. You are also encouraged to come to my office at any time if you need to.

Research Group website >>

How day-to-day research training and support is provided: The SWBio student will be supervised and trained by myself alongside Dr Jana Friedrich, the Project Leader in Genetic engineering of crop pests in my lab. Dr Jana Friedrich will take a prominent training role (under guidance of myself) beyond rotation 1.

Supervision style: Directive support: C / Training structure: 7

How often PhD students see you in a timetabled group meeting: At least once a month

Other research groups that PhD students will have the opportunity to frequently interact with: There are monthly section (Protecting Crops and Environment) meetings where the PhD student can engage with other research groups in our department, and smaller meetings of the Functional Genomics (BioOmics) team 4 times a year. We have a joint monthly 'Integrated Pest Management discussion group' where the student will get in touch with other research groups in a different section also.

How often you meet with your PhD students 1-1 formally outside of group meetings (i.e. meetings of >30 minutes): At least once per month; mixture of virtual and in person.

Expected working pattern (based on a full-time student): At least within core hours (10-4) and other time to be managed around this.

How the academic supervisor supports the PhD project: Anticipated there will be regular meetings (virtual) of the PhD student with all 4 supervisors. The PhD student will spend Rotation 2 with the second supervisor and his group and will further have the opportunity to spend time with Dr Aimee L. Boyle who is a member of Dek Woolfson's group at the University of Bristol.

Notice needed for feedback on work (based on a 5000 word report): 1-2 weeks

Communication: Available to e-mail every day and to drop in to the office when available.

Research Group website >>

How day-to-day research training and support is provided: The PhD student will be trained alongside me. PDRAs will offer additional support with specific methodologies and training when necessary. On a daily basis, the PhD student will interact with PDRAs, other PhD students and visiting workers whilst in the lab.

Supervision style: Directive support: A / Training structure: 8

How often PhD students see you in a timetabled group meeting: At least once a fortnight

Other research groups that PhD students will have the opportunity to frequently interact with: As the student will be working with samples from the "Cropping Transitions Experiments" which is directly associated with the "Growing Health" ISP, it will be beneficial that the student attends the ISP work package meetings which take place twice a month. The ISP is made up of different work packages and consists of several researchers, so the student will have the opportunity to learn about other projects and network with a wider community. Additionally, the student will be based at Rothamsted at the Molecular Microbial Ecology Group (MMEG). The lab meetings occur every two weeks and there will be opportunities to interact with the whole group, learn about all projects, discuss science and help with field sampling. The student will also interact with bioinformaticians who will support any issues regarding more sophisticated bioinformatics analyses. The student will also be able to attend Town Hall meetings and department (Sustainable Soils and Crops) meetings once a month.

How often you meet with your PhD students 1-1 formally outside of group meetings (i.e. meetings of >30 minutes): At least once per week; Mixture of virtual/in person.

Expected working pattern (based on a full-time student): Normal working hours are from 9 am to 5:30 pm, but we are very flexible to accommodate individuals requirements regarding childcare, commuting, personal beliefs (religion).

How the academic supervisor supports the PhD project: Both supervisors meet once every two weeks, to discuss projects directions. The second supervisor will support the PhD student by attending meetings with the main supervisor once a month and with all the supervisory team once every 4 months.

Notice needed for feedback on work (based on a 5000 word report): < 1 week

Communication: I'm available at the office most days, occasionally working from home on Fridays. Thus, the PhD student will always be welcome to drop in. Additionally, we have a group WhatsApp group for general issues and quick replies and I check my e-mail daily. Weekly meetings will be scheduled in advance and if other commitments appear, they will be rescheduled as appropriate and necessary.