Where I’m from

Of Ngāti Porou descent, I grew up in the Bay of Plenty, spending most of my childhood in Tauranga and Whakatane. I love the beautiful beaches, the waterfalls and most of all visiting my marae on the East Coast – Whareponga.

How I became part of Bioprotection Aotearoa

I majored in environmental science and geography for my Bachelor of Science. I always knew I wanted to study something to do with the environment because of my deep appreciation for Papatūānuku and my call to help her. As I finished my degree, I realised that I had not exactly fulfilled that purpose.

In 2020, I decided to complete my Honours, investigating how much power is shared in the co-governance of kauri dieback up north. I started to uncover the downfalls of some of these programmes. There was a complete lack of partnership and collaboration, while Mātauranga Māori was largely excluded or unsupported. This provoked me to continue on to a PhD.

My research subject

For my PhD I am researching how braiding Mātauranga Māori and western science can help to inform biosecurity threats in New Zealand – with a focus on kauri, myrtle rust, and pest fish. I hope to connect to different iwi and hapū and support them in sharing their cultural narrative of these issues and show the strength in using Mātauranga Māori in solving them.

I also hope to show the importance of engaging and partnering with Māori in all areas of environmental protection. I strongly believe that true collaboration is the only way we can save our environment.

What I like most about my research

The most amazing thing about my research is the opportunity to reconnect to my Māori heritage. As a young scientist growing up in a very western world, I had lost touch with who I truly am. Through reconnecting to Māori culture, I have felt a strong reconnection to myself. I hope that I can learn te reo and delve deeper into my whakapapa, that I can continue to support and advocate for the amazing values, knowledge, and principles, that the culture holds.

What I’d like to do once I’ve finished my study

I would like to continue to use Mātauranga Māori to help inform environmental decisions. I’d like to work with councils, iwi, government, community, to engage with Māori and incorporate Māori values and cultural narratives into our decisions.

What I like to do outside of study

I love to explore nature. Whether it is skiing, hiking, surfing, or foraging for wildflowers and food, I love being active and outdoors. I will never say no to an adventure! When at home, my happy place is either in the kitchen cooking for friends or in the backyard gardening and practicing yoga.

My social media accounts

You can find me on LinkedIn and Instagram.

Where I’m from

I’m from near Hannover in Germany – a region urban enough that Otago induced a bit of a culture shock when I first arrived here.

How I became part of Bioprotection Aotearoa

I was introduced to the New Zealand science scene when I came here for an internship during my MSc, and then I started my PhD in Peter Fineran’s lab on bacterial defence systems. After my PhD, I was given the exciting opportunity to keep working in this field as part of Bioprotection Aotearoa.

My research subject and how I became interested in it

During my PhD, I investigated bacterial defence systems such as restriction–modification and CRISPR–Cas, as well as anti-CRISPR proteins, a counter-defence mechanism evolved by bacteriophages – the viruses that infect bacteria.

I became interested in CRISPR–Cas during my studies at the Technische Universität Braunschweig in Germany when I read a review paper by last year’s Nobel laureate Emmanuelle Charpentier on small RNAs and their role in CRISPR defence. Coincidentally, Charpentier had a lab in Braunschweig at that time and I got in touch to see if I could start working with her as a way into the CRISPR field. Luckily, this never came to fruition and I instead travelled to Dunedin to join Peter’s lab – which I believe was the much better choice.

In this role, I am hoping to identify and characterise so-far unknown defence mechanisms, which might lead to interesting new applications – after all, the discovery of the popular gene editing tool Cas9 resulted from basic research like this.

What I like most about my research

Aside from generating new knowledge – I guess that’s why all of us do research – I also really like trying to find creative ways to communicate these findings in writing and through images. Believe it or not but I did enjoy some aspects of working on my thesis!

The impact I hope my research will have

There is still a lot we can learn when it comes to the interactions between bacteria and phages, and defence and counter-defence systems are one crucial aspect of this. I hope my research can help to broaden our understanding of this interplay. Phages can be used as agents against human or plant pathogens, and many bacterial or phage proteins have proven very useful in generating versatile tools. I hope to continue this tradition and help provide more examples of basic research as a source of great innovations.

What I like to do outside of work

I like to go running on the streets and trails in and around Dunedin, do amateur photography, check my plants way too often for whether they might have become a millimetre taller, look up places that could be nice for tramping … and sometimes actually go there!

Contact me about

Anything! Whether you want to know more about the research we’re doing, have ideas of potential overlaps or collaborations, or whatever else you might be interested in. I’m also very keen to work on my science writing and communication skills, so I’d be happy to hear from you if there are any opportunities available.

My social media accounts

I’m on Twitter as @NilsBirkholz

Where I’m from

I grew up on the West Coast, but came to Christchurch during my high school years.

How I became part of Bioprotection Aotearoa

It’s a long complex story, intertwined with my life as a postgrad student, best answered in the next question!

My research subject

Although it’s not applicable to my work for Bioprotection Aotearoa, I am a marine turtle biologist. When I was studying for my MSc in the midst of a Dunedin winter a scholarship was advertised to undertake a research project at the University of the South Pacific, Fiji – so of course I signed up! While in Fiji I studied the population demographics of marine turtles that were being harvested and sold in the markets. I later won a PhD scholarship at James Cook University in Townsville, Queensland, where I continued studying marine turtles – this time investigating the ‘lost years’, the cryptic post-hatchling life stage.

After my PhD I worked on Boigu, a remote island in the Torres Strait for the local council and later for the Queensland Government. This job had me racing around on small ‘catch’ boats, from which we would ‘rodeo’ turtles and dugongs. Turtle rodeos are a real thing!

After that I juggled private consultancy, establishing and managing a bike shop, and becoming a mum. Eventually, that brought me back to New Zealand, where I applied for a job at Lincoln University, and got it!

What I enjoy most about my job

As the contracts manager of Bioprotection Aotearoa I work with a wide range of people every day. I am lucky to share an office with great people, and to be able to share in the journey of our students, to communicate with our researchers from all around the country and see the successes of the science programmes.

What I like to do outside of work

I live at the base of the Port Hills, so I love to explore the tracks when I can. I especially love the occasional Rogaine to get off the regular beaten tracks.

Contact me about

Contracts, project budgets, reporting, and travel.

Where I’m from

I was born in Bristol, England but emigrated with my family to New Zealand at the age of 12, settling in the Motueka Valley. I’ve since called South Island places home, including Dunedin, Queenstown and currently Arthur’s Pass, and have spent time in Canada and Germany.

How I became part of Bioprotection Aotearoa

I completed a Bachelor of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Otago, then after a few years away from study, a Master’s degree in molecular medicine at the Friedrich-Schiller University in Jena, Germany.

Halfway through the Master’s I realised I couldn’t imagine life in a pathology lab and environmental sciences would more closely align my passion for the outdoors with my career. I had always been most interested in microbiology, so soil microbial ecology seemed a perfect field to segue into. I’ve spent the last few years trying to make that a reality, including taking a course in environmental management at the Southern Institute of Technology and spending a summer getting my hands dirty as a conservation worker removing wilding pines from the Mackenzie Basin. When Eirian Jones suggested I might be interested in this PhD scholarship it seemed too good an opportunity to let pass by.

My research subject

My research topic is the role of plants in creating resilient soils that can withstand stresses such as drought and disease, particularly when exacerbated by climate change.

I would love to focus on the role of mycorrhizal fungal networks in creating more disturbance-tolerant ecosystems, from the perspective of soils, vegetation, and human communities.

I find mycorrhizal fungal networks fascinating because of their complexity and the fact they are still so difficult to study in the field. Research has looked at their influence in forest ecosystems, but there is still a lot to learn about their function in agricultural systems. It would be great if advancements in knowledge of these networks could help us to manage ecosystems more efficiently and sustainably.

What I like most about my research

Although I haven’t started my research yet, I am enjoying diving into the literature of soil microbial ecology. As this is a very different area to my previous studies there is a lot to learn. Having freedom to develop my research questions within the broad initial topic and considering what kind of experiments I will need to carry out feels exciting.

What I’d like to do once I’ve finished my study

I would love to find a job that combines field work with office or lab work, as being outside and connecting with the ecosystems I am studying is important to me. I’d like to be able to travel as part of my work and would love the chance to visit Antarctica as a researcher and live at Scott Base for a season.

What I like to do outside of study

Get outside! In the summer this is mainly in the form or tramping and in the winter skiing and mountaineering. We are so fortunate in New Zealand to have such an incredible network of trails and huts – there is always more to explore!

My social media accounts

You can find me on Instagram

How have land-use changes affected the growth and survival of Phytophthora agathidicida, the invasive oomycete that causes kauri dieback?

Kauri (Agathis australis), one of New Zealand’s most iconic native trees, is culturally significant to Māori and functions as an ecological foundation species. However, after logging and clearance for agriculture only around 1% of the original kauri forest remains. These remnant, fragmented kauri forests are now threatened by the spread of kauri dieback.

Based in Waipoua and in partnership with Te Roroa Iwi, we set out to understand what part these land-use changes have played.

We found that surrounding land uses of exotic pine (Pinus radiata) and pasture (common pasture species) led to higher growth and sporulation rates of P. agathidicida than in than kauri forests soils, creating potential disease reservoirs. Pine also significantly altered soil microbial community composition, including the loss of microbial taxa linked to plant health. This highlights that historical disturbance of the soil environment surrounding kauri forests may increase their susceptibility to invading plant pathogens.

We also investigated how kauri dieback may cause secondary, cascading impacts that affect long-term forest ecosystem functioning. We looked at the differences between symptomatic and asymptomatic mature kauri in terms of diversity, taxonomic composition and functional genes related to carbon and nitrogen cycling of soil microbial communities.

We found significant differences in the fungal diversity and the fungal and bacterial community composition between asymptomatic and symptomatic kauri. Several microbial taxa known for supressing plant disease, such as Penicillium, Trichoderma, Enterobacteriacae and Pseudomonas, were significantly more abundant in asymptomatic kauri soils.

These results provided a promising direction for the discovery of micro-organisms that suppress kauri dieback. As well, significant differences in the composition and abundance of microbial genes related to carbon and nitrogen cycling highlight the potential long-term impacts of dieback disease on the health and functioning of kauri forests.