Dr Aoife O' Driscoll

Aoife is a senior research scientist at Niab, specialising in cereal pathology, crop protection and the development of innovative approaches to integrated pest and disease management.

Her research is organised around three central questions:

• How do pathogens make their way into crops? Understanding the routes of pathogen entry, establishment and spread within farming systems, linking field epidemiology with molecular diagnostics and environmental monitoring.
• How do pathogens adapt to control measures? Investigating the mechanisms and drivers of fungicide resistance and varietal breakdown helps inform more durable strategies for crop protection.
• How can we design sustainable and profitable disease management programmes? Developing integrated solutions that combine varietal resistance, cultural practices and chemistry which support resilient and profitable crop production.

Aoife contributes to academic collaborations on pathogen biology, epidemiology and resistance evolution, while also leading industry-focused programmes on disease surveillance, variety testing and crop protection strategies on-farm. She works closely with growers, agronomists, agrochemical companies and advisory services both in the UK and internationally to translate research findings into practical outcomes. She is a regular contributor to the farming press and industry technical events and teaches Introductory and Advanced Courses in Cereal Disease Management, ensuring Niab’s research delivers both scientific impact and practical value. 

She is open to collaboration with academic partners and industry stakeholders with the aim of developing agronomic solutions for crop protection which can be implemented on-farm. 

Current research

Title: Fungicide performance
Duration: 2025-2028
Partners: Adas (lead), Niab, SRUC and Harper Adams University College
Funders: AHDB

Title: Biopesticides performance test-pilot 
Duration: 2025-2027
Partners: SRUC (lead), Niab, and Adas
Funders: AHDB

Relevant publications

Jorgensen, L. et al., 2024. Management of rust in wheat using IPM principles and alternative products. Agriculture, 13 pp10-16. 

Matzen, N., et al., 2024. EuroBarley: control of leaf diseases in barley across Europe. Journal of Plant Disease Protection. 131, 1239–1244. 

Jorgensen, L. et al., 2022. Shifting sensitivity of septoria tritici blotch compromises field performance and yield of main fungicides in Europe. Frontiers in Plant Science, 13, p.106. 

Hehir, J.G., Connolly, C., O'Driscoll, A., Lynch, J.P., Spink, J., Brown, J.K.M., Doohan, F. and Mullins, E., 2018. Temporal and spatial field evaluations highlight the importance of the presymptomatic phase in supporting strong partial resistance in Triticum aestivum against Zymoseptoria tritici. Plant Pathology, 67(3), pp.573-583.

O’Driscoll, A., Doohan, F. and Mullins, E., 2015. Exploring the utility of Brachypodium distachyon as a model pathosystem for the wheat pathogen Zymoseptoria tritici. BMC research notes, 8 (1), p.132.

O’Driscoll, A., Kildea, S., Doohan, F., Spink, J. and Mullins, E., 2014. The wheat–Septoria conflict: a new front opening up? Trends in plant science, 19 (9), pp.602-610.

For further publications and information:

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