Bioprotection Aotearoa

02/09/2026

Summer scholarship applications open! Our summer scholarships are a 10-week opportunity for undergraduates to experience hands-on bioprotection research in the field, lab and/or analysing data. We have 5 summer scholarships this year across 5 projects:

🌿 How land use is changing in Aotearoa, supervised by Dr Salene Schloffel-Armstrong and Dr Sylvia Nissen

🔬 Which fungi help trees grow in afforestation projects, supervised by Dr Nicola Day

🧫 How bacterial phage resistance spreads between different bacteria in natural plant communities, supervised by Professor Peter Fineran, Dr Marion Schoof and Dr Nils Birkholz

🐦 How w**ds are spread by birds, supervised by Professor Margaret Stanley

💻 How Google could be used to track w**d spread, supervised by Distinguished Professor Philip Hulme

Applications close 25 September 2026.

Learn more and apply today at the link in the comments.

01/09/2026

RNZ's Sharon Brettkelly recently met with Director Amanda Black to dive deeper into the moa de-extinction debate for Our Changing World. This time, the question is not if we can, but if we SHOULD.

"I do think as a nation we need to have this conversation...is this something we want as a collective to do and allow?" - Amanda Black

Listen to the interview:

Sharon Brettkelly looks at whether we SHOULD de-extinct the moa.

31/08/2026

Growers lose apple crop every year to apple scab, a pathogen caused by the fungus Venturia inaequalis. Scientists are hard at work researching ways to prevent fungal infection, including PhD student Keith Thorburn (Massey University).

Keith is investigating the molecular tricks V. inaequalis uses to break through apple resistance. To do this, he is using a strain of V. inaequalis that has overcome nine different apple resistance genes. He aims to identify the “effector” genes the fungus uses to infect apple trees, and test how altering these genes changes infection success.

The insights from Keith's research could even help protect plants beyond apples, as fungal diseases threaten crops and native taonga species alike. The project is supervised by Dr Carl Mesarich (Massey University) with advisors Professor Peter Fineran (Otago University) and Dr Rob Fagerlund (Otago University).

Learn more about Keith's research at the link in comments.

📸 Putting droplets of a V. inaequalis spore solution on apple leaves to test if the isolate can infect the plant or if it is resistant.

30/08/2026

In July, members of Bioprotection Aotearoa gathered to celebrate Matariki. For Postdoctoral fellow Deidre Jaeger (Lincoln University), one of our newest additions to the BA whānau, the Matariki celebrations couldn't have been more perfectly timed.

In her first Early Career Voice piece, Deidre reflects on the year that was, the year that lies ahead, and the gratitude she feels for finding community in a time of great change.

28/08/2026

The easiest pest, pathogen or w**d to control is the one that never makes it into the country. Dr Murray Cox explains that our current biosecurity system is mainly reactive, acting after incursions occur. But, data can help us change to a proactive system where it's possible to predict and stop pests, pathogens, and w**ds before they spread. Listen to the new episode, out now on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.

27/08/2026

H5N1 (bird flu) is here, but this biological incursion feels different. Instead of the usual top-down biosecurity response, communities are stepping up to be leaders.

Director Amanda Black reflects on this recent shift to place-based, collaborative responses to threats in her latest op-ed. What does this approach look like in the search for bioprotection solutions? Read Amanda's reflection at the link in comments.

26/08/2026

Data can help solve tough biosecurity questions, but answers won't magically appear. Data analysis starts with one simple but crucial step: ask a question. Listen to episode 09, out now on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.

26/08/2026

Ask any of our early career researchers how the went, and you’ll get the same answer: “We need to culture more...”

Nearly 2,000 people from around the world attended the 20th International Symposium on Microbial Ecology and and a few of our people were right there among them, presenting posters and soaking up all the plenaries, roundtables and hallway conversations.

The verdict? Inspired, relevent, energies high and already talking about what’s next.

📸 Mada Sibero, Mesu Tora, Sam Mills, Jordan Espenshade, Amanda Black who co-chaired with Expedito Olimi the session - Indigenous Knowledge: solutions for global environmental challenges.

26/08/2026

"As Cabinet considers proposals to amalgamate regional authorities as part of its overhaul of local government...almost no one is asking how the reconfiguration will affect New Zealand’s biosecurity system."

Distinguished Professor Phil Hulme (Lincoln University) argues in The Conversation Australia + NZ that local government reform offers a rare opportunity to strengthen the biosecurity system.

"A highly centralised system runs the risk of becoming a bureaucracy detached from regional realities. A better model is one that combines national coordination with genuinely regional delivery, in effect a federated biosecurity system."

Read the article to learn about the advantages of a federated biosecurity system:

Effective pest control depends on local teams but requires national oversight and funding. A federated system could strengthen New Zealand’s biosecurity response.

25/08/2026

Our August 2026 pānui is here! This update on the past few months at Bioprotection Aotearoa includes:

✨ An op-ed on communities stepping up to be leaders prompted by the H5N1 (bird flu) incursion, by Director Amanda Black (Lincoln University)

✨ A spotlight on Mes Tora's (Lincoln University) PhD research on soil health in Fiji agroecosystems

✨ An Early Career Voice piece by Postdoc Deidre Jaeger (Lincoln University) reflecting on BA's Matariki celebration

✨ A new publication on dairy farming identities by Dr Elizabeth Elliot Noe

✨ and the release of our next season of Under the Lens 🔬

Read the full newsletter at the link in comments ⬇️