Academic and Professional Background

• Research:

  Thesis: Molecular detection of Luteoviridae

• Publications:
  1. Chomič, A., Pearson, M.N., Clover, G.R.G., Farreyrol, K., Saul, D., Hampton, J.G., Armstrong, K.F., 2010. A generic RT-PCR assay for the detection of Luteoviridae. Plant Pathology 59, 429–442. This article has won the competition for Best Student Paper Prize, awarded by the British Society for Plant Pathology. For more information please go to http://www.bspp.org.uk/society/bestpaper.php.
  2. Chomič, A., Winder, L., Armstrong, K.F., Pearson, M.N., Hampton, J.G., 2010. Detection and discrimination of members of the family Luteoviridae by real-time PCR and SYBR® GreenERTM melting curve analysis. Journal of Virological Methods, doi:10.1016/j.jviromet.2010.09.028
• Personal Resume:

  Anastasija Chomič is in the third year of her PhD programme “Molecular detection of the Luteoviridae”. Originally from Lithuania, she has a BSc in Molecular Biology from Vilnius University.
  
  Luteoviridae viruses present a high risk to many economically important crops, including cereals, potatoes, legumes, sugarcane and beet, by infecting them and significantly reducing yield. The problem with current detection practises is that they are mostly species specific and therefore the detection of each Luteoviridae species requires different approach. The universal detection of Luteoviridae is highly desirable in order to control the spread of infection and prevent epidemics. The absence of convenient and fast infection-detection tools is a major difficulty for biosecurity agencies, and one which Anastasija’s PhD hopes to resolve.

  
  Her work is funded by Better Border Biosecurity and involves extensive collaborations with The University of Auckland, MAF Biosecurity New Zealand, Plant & Food Research and AgResearch. It has already been presented at the number of national and international conferences. Anastasija is supervised by Dr Karen Armstrong (Lincoln University), Prof John Hampton (Lincoln University) and Assoc Prof Mike Pearson (The University of Auckland).