Earlier this week I had the pleasure of giving an online seminar as part of the Triticeae Genomics and Molecular Breeding International Forum. It was a great opportunity to share our latest work on generating GIANT starch granules in wheat 🌾 www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

I had a great time presenting my work on generating GIANT starch granules in wheat at #PlantBio2026 If you missed my talk, you can read all about the work here ⤵️ www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

I'm really looking forward to talking at #PlantBio2026 I'll be speaking in the Biochemistry session at 13:35 on Tuesday in room 213/215. If you're attending the conference and interested in biochemistry, genetics, plastids, carbon metabolism or wheat it would be great to see you there 🌾👩‍🔬🧬

If you're attending #PlantBio2026 drop by my poster (#000-007)! It's all about my latest work producing GIANT starch granules in wheat 🌾 Or read about the work here ⤵️ www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Overall, these giant granules are a new class of cereal starch and could be utilised for food and industrial applications. This work wouldn't have been possible without the hard work from my coauthors at @johninnescentre.bsky.social and a collaboration with the @quadraminstitute.bsky.social (6/6)

Finally, we tested the physiochemical properties of the giant granules. Whilst we saw no differences in resistant starch content or granule digestibility, we saw strong correlations between granule size and pasting and viscosity parameters. (5/6)

When we grew the parc6 bgc1 mutants in the field the giant granule phenotype was maintained and had no negative effect on yield or thousand grain weight. (4/6)

Our parc6 bgc1 mutants produced giant starch granules where nearly 50% of granules larger than 30 µm whereas in wildtype wheat only 7% of granules are bigger than 30 µm. Remarkably some parc6 bgc1 starch granules were 50 µm in size - which has never been seen in wheat starch before. (3/6)

We show that two factors determine starch granule size - the number of granules initiated and the size of the amyloplast (the organelle in which starch granules form). We combined two mutations (bgc1 and parc6) to simultaneously reduce granule initiation and increase amyloplast size (2/6)

We show that two factors determine starch granule size - the number of granules initiated and the size of the amyloplast (the organelle in which starch granules form). We combined two mutations (bgc1 and parc6) to simultaneously reduce granule initaiton and increase amyloplast size (2/6)

Today at #IWC2026Bologna I spoke about starch granule formation in Aegilops tauschii and wheat. The fruitful discussions afterwards left me feeling excited and given me new ideas for future experiments 🧪👩‍🔬 Thanks to the @wheatinitiative.bsky.social for funding my travel and making this possible!

Day 3 of #IWC2026Bologna included the technical tours. I was lucky enough to visit the Barilla pasta factory where I enjoyed seeing spaghetti coming off the production line and was amazed to learn that they produce 1.1 million tonnes of pasta each year 🍝🍝

I really enjoyed presenting my poster and sharing my work at #IWC2026Bologna today. If you are at the conference and want to learn about Aegilops tauschii, starch or GWAS pop by my poster (PO493) over the next couple of days 🌾

Day 1 of #IWC2026Bologna 🌾 I enjoyed hearing about how we can try and make wheat more sustainable and enjoyed meeting old (and new!) friends all connected by a common interest in wheat. Looking forward to day 2 tomorrow....

As part of #pint26 (and thanks to the hard work of @ddpsyuea.bsky.social, Katerina Kokmotou and others) we were able to host our first BSL interpreted @pintofscience.uk event in Norwich. It was a fascinating evening of science and a great opportunity to connect with the local deaf community

What a fantastic way to end #pint26! Over the last 3 days we've hosted 15 events in Norwich reaching over 350 people and teaching them about a whole range of subjects including why we study poo 💩, how art and science can collide 🎨 and the power of plants 🌱

I've really enjoyed the second evening of @pintofscience.uk in Norwich. I learnt so much: from communication in babies 👶 to cell size in plants 🌱 Join us for our final events tomorrow ⤵️ pintofscience.co.uk/events/norwi... #pint26

Some more great images from this evening. We are so lucky in Norwich to have such an enthusiastic team of volunteers to organize and host our events ⭐🧪 #pint26

A really great first night of @pintofscience.uk in Norwich 🧪🧬🧫 Can't wait for the next two evenings. If you want to join us we still have a (limited) number of tickets left ⤵️ pintofscience.co.uk/events/norwi... #pint26

Have you ever seen a first edition copy of 'On the Origin of Species'? Or seen the first in print drawing of a potato 🥔? These were just some of the treasures hiding away in the @johninnescentre.bsky.social rare books room which I was fortunate to visit last week. A truly amazing experience 📚🌱

Part of the #PlastidPreview2025 program involved a trip to the plant growth facility at @universityofessex.bsky.social It was super cool to see all the amazing facilities including onions growing in a vertical farm, how to measure photosynthesis and some impressive dynamic growth rooms 🌱

The second and final day of #PlastidPreview2025 has been really insightful! I enjoyed networking with other early career researchers and it was an honour to present my work from my post doc. I was so pleased that so many people enjoyed hearing about starch and the many fruitful followup discussions!

It's been a great day at #PlastidPreciew2025 at the @universityofessex.bsky.social I've learnt about chloroplast development, retrograde signalling and even macroalgae! @ciara-obrien.bsky.social, Thomas and Carol (my Seung group lab mates) gave fab talks and I'm looking forward to my go tomorrow...

Earlier this week I spoke to students from @liysf.bsky.social about my journey through science and life at the John Innes Centre studying plants 🌱 It was a real full circle moment as I attended LIYSF myself when I was 18!

Today I was lucky enough to attend an International Wheat Symposium at the @johninnescentre.bsky.social 🌾 There were many inspiring talks and I learnt so much about disease resistance, biofortification, breeding.... And I loved being able to share my work on starch in wheat wild relatives

This week I joined the Rosalind Franklin Women In Wheat annual workshop. I was inspired by Jess Wade's talk about academia's hidden curriculum, and enjoyed learning about fellowship opportunities and elevator pitches. Yet my highlight was meeting other early career scientists studying wheat 🌾

What a way to end @pintofscience.uk 2025 🍻🎉 We had 12 brilliant talks covering everything from inbreeding in birds (and the Royal family 👑) to bugs and prostate cancer A massive thank you to our 🌟 amazing 🌟 event managers who have planned and hosted 15 events over the past 3 days! #pint25

Did you know Einstein has links to the invention of the paper towel? Or that the earth is closest to the sun in January 🌍 These are just some of the cool things I learnt tonight at @pintofscience.uk in Norwich🍺 Join us for our final 5 events tomorrow ⤵️ pintofscience.co.uk/events/norwich #pint25

The first night of @pintofscience.uk has been great 🎉🍻 I've learnt about droughts (did you know East Anglia is drier than Morocco) ☀️, how our brains perceive 🧠 and links between the menopause and Alzheimer's🩸 Buy tickets for Tuesday and Wednesday now ⤵️ pintofscience.co.uk/events/norwich #pint25

It was a pleasure to be invited by and hosted by Professor Jiang Qiantao and his group and we had many interesting discussions about starch and other research being conducted. To read more about my visit please visit xms.sicau.edu.cn/info/1003/39...