Medhavi Kakkar

Biography

My work as a PhD student concentrates on understanding relationships between crops and beneficial microbes in the soil, specifically how these interactions relate to crop nutrition. I am investigating the molecular mechanisms that underlie symbiosis between Barley and mycorrhizal fungi, with my research being funded by the Trinity Cawthorn PhD Studentship in Crop Sciences.

I did my Undergraduate and Masters degrees in Biology at Durham University, where I subsequently worked as an industry funded Research Assistant, Knowledge Exchange Fellow with the N8 AgriFood Resilience Programme, and then Project Coordinator facilitating the development of a taught Masters course in plant biotechnology and enterprise. My previous research projects have focussed on cold stress perception via cell walls in Arabidopsis, the role of splicing factors in plant root development, and the influence of nutrient deficiency on root exudates.