Hi, I'm Isaac Coven. I graduated from the University of Bristol in 2023 with a BSc in Biological Science. Currently, I'm pursuing an MPhil at the University of Cambridge in the Biological Sciences (Crop Science) programme. As part of my course, I'll be working at the Sainsbury Laboratory for a term, as a part of the Shornack research group. My focus is on exploring the potential of SCAR gene knockout mutants for improved disease resistance in barley, concentrating on the effects on pathogenic and beneficial symbiotic interactions.

Research Interests

Research Interests

I am fascinated by cell biology. I am particularly interested in studying how different cellular organelles in plants form, function, communicate with each other and respond to external stress such as pathogen infection.

Research Interests

My research is centred on investigating the infectious strategies employed by symbiotic microorganisms during their beneficial interactions with plants. Specifically, I have a keen interest in exploring the molecular functions of proteins secreted by these microorganisms, known as "effectors," and their impact on plant immunity, physiology, and development.

I completed my undergraduate studies in Biological Sciences at the University of Münster (Germany) in 2016. During that time, I focused on protein biochemistry in the context of photosynthesis in the unicellular alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii (Bachelor thesis, supervised by Prof. Michael Hippler) and isoprenoid biosynthesis in Russian dandelion roots (Master thesis, supervised by Prof.

In 2019, I obtained my BA in Natural Sciences (Plant Sciences) from the University of Cambridge. During my studies, I conducted a research project on the transmission of Cucumber Mosaic Virus by aphids in the group of Professor John Carr. Later that year, I joined Sebastian Schornack’s group as a research technician, where I worked with Dr Philip Carella studying plant immunity in the liverwort Marchantia polymorpha.

I completed my MSc in Plant Molecular Biology in the laboratory of Marcelo Desimone (National University of Cordoba, Argentina) in cooperation with the Center for Plant Molecular Biology (ZMBP) in Tuebingen. In Cordoba I studied the subcellular localisation of two putative hormone transporters in Arabidopsis thaliana and Soybean. Afterwards, I re-joined the ZMBP as a PhD student in the group of Gerd Juergens. The group focuses their research on molecular mechanisms underlying the directed transport of proteins in plant cells.