Dr Estrella Luna-Diez PhD

• BBSRC Future Leader Fellow (2017-present), University of Sheffield & University of Birmingham
• P³ Independent Research Fellow, University of Sheffield (2016)
• Research Associate, University of Sheffield (2013-2015)
• PhD: Lancaster University / Rothamsted Research (2009-2012)
• MEng in Agronomy and Crop Science: Polytech University of Valencia (2006-2008)
• BEng in Agronomy (Horticulture and landscape gardening): University Jaume I of Castellon (2003-2006)

Dr Luna-Díez graduated as Technical Agriculture Engineer from the University Jaume I of Castellon in 2006. She spent a few months travelling before she moved to Valencia, where, in December 2008 she completed a higher engineering degree in Agronomy. In January 2009, she was awarded a Leonardo Da Vinci training fellowship to join the laboratory of Dr. Jurriaan Ton at Rothamsted Research (Harpenden, UK). Seven months into her fellowship, she obtained a studentship to carry on with my doctoral studies based at Rothamsted Research, but as a student of Lancaster University. In November 2012, she completed my PhD in Biological Sciences. After she completed her PhD, she worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the department of Animal and Plant Sciences at The University of Sheffield for 3 years. She then had her son William and came back to work with a fellowship from the Plant, Production and Protection (P3) Centre of the University of Sheffield. During her P3 fellowship, she secured a BBSRC Future Leader Fellowship. The University of Sheffield and P3 hosted the first half of her fellowship. Currently, the University of Birmingham hosts her fellowship where she also hold a Lectureship in Plant Pathology, associated to the Birmingham Institute of Forest Research (BIFoR).

A list of PhD and Masters opportunities to work in her group will be announced soon. Stay tuned!

For informal inquiries, please send her an email with your motivation and research interests.

Since the start of her degree in Agronomy, Dr Luna-Diez research interests have been driven by the exceptional ability of plants to adapt to hostile environments. From the start of her research career, she has investigated the molecular, genetic and epigenetic mechanisms that mark plant defence responses to diseases. Dr Luna-Diez has extensive experience in plant models and crops, such as Arabidopsis and tomato. Here at the University of Birmingham, she will also implement her work in forest tree pathology in association with BIFoR. At the moment, she is working in the following research projects:

 

• Exploiting the immune system to tackle emerging filamentous diseases

This project exploits the immune system of the tomato crop to enhance protection against emerging filamentous diseases. She will do this through priming the defence capacity of plants to prepare to respond faster and stronger against attackers. The ultimate goal of this project is to provide novel strategies that offer “one-step-ahead” solutions against the risks associated with devastating outbreaks of emerging diseases.

• The effect of priming agents in the protection of tomato harvest against grey mould

Tomato is a major crop world-wide and like other crops, substantial crop yields are lost to diseases. Grey mould (Botrytis cinerea) can cause the loss of over 50% of annual tomato crops. Novel technique development is essential to achieve a competent and eco-friendly tomato industry.  Different priming agents are effective in inducing resistance against B. cinerea in tomato plants. However, little is known about whether these priming agents protects fruit from B. cinerea during tomato post-harvest storage. This project studies whether treatment of tomato plants with priming agents result in a long-lasting induced resistance against grey mould in tomato fruit.

 

• Understanding plant defence strategies in the arms race against Fusarium oxysporum

Fusarium oxysporum is a devastating soil-borne pathogen that provokes vascular wilt in over a hundred field and greenhouse-grown crops both in industrialized and developing countries. Current methods of control of F. oxysporum depend on the extensive use of chemical pesticides, which is increasingly regarded as unsustainable. This project exploits the tomato’s immune system to provide a powerful source for future Integrated Disease Management of vascular fusariosis.

 

Future directions in tree pathology. Dr Luna-Diez lectureship in Plant Pathology at the University of Birmingham is linked to the Birmingham Institute of Forest Research. From this position, she will develop cutting-edge research to provide novel strategies to secure tree resilience to diseases. BIFoR aims to address the impact of climate and environmental change on woodlands. For this, BIFoR has a Free Air CO2 Enritchment (FACE) experiment running in the woodlands of Staffordshire. 

Researcher identifier numbers:

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7299-5364

Scopus ID: 37098791700

Current website:

https://lunas-research.com/

For the past 5 years, Dr Luna-Díez has been fully involved with the Society of Spanish Researchers in the United Kingdom. She chaired the Society from July 2017 and June 2018. If you are a Spanish researcher in the UK, do not hesitate and join this fantastic organisation.

Through SRUK, she participates and organises science policy events, professional development workshops and outreach/scientific activities.