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School of Life Sciences

Dr Mojgan Rabiey

Assistant Professor

Email:  

Phone: 024 765 73527

Office: B145

Twitter: @MojganRabiey

Research Clusters

Plant & Agricultural Biosciences (Cluster Co-Lead)

Environment & Ecology

Microbiology & Infectious Disease

Warwick Centres

Warwick Crop Centre

Other Roles

Director of Postdoctoral Affairs

Opportunities in the group

For PhD and postdoctoral opportunities, and interest in potential collaborations, please contact me at the above email address.

Research/Teaching Interests

Bacterial pathogens severely impact crops and trees, leading to major economic losses worldwide. Current control measures are often limited, and the rise of antibiotic resistance in plant pathogens has made traditional approaches increasingly unsustainable. This creates an urgent need for innovative, targeted strategies to manage plant diseases.

Our research focuses on phage therapy, the use of naturally occurring bacteriophages (phages) that specifically infect and kill bacterial pathogens. Unlike antibiotics, phages are highly selective, targeting only their bacterial hosts while leaving beneficial microbes unharmed. In laboratory and plant-based studies, they have shown strong potential to reduce bacterial populations and control disease.

In my lab, we are advancing phage therapy for crop and tree health through a multi-layered approach:

Phage discovery and characterisation:We isolate phages from plant and soil environments and characterize them using genome sequencing, electron microscopy, receptor analysis, and bothin vitroandin plantaassays to test efficacy against key pathogens.

Tracking phage–bacteria–plant interactions:Using genetic engineering and fluorescent labeling, we follow the movement of phages and bacteria within plant tissues by confocal microscopy, providing insights into how they interact at the cellular level.

Resistance management:Through passaging and co-evolution experiments, we investigate how bacteria evolve resistance to phages and identify the mechanisms involved. These studies guide strategies to prevent resistance and ensure long-term effectiveness of phage therapy.

Application and delivery methods:We test precise delivery systems to ensure phages reach their bacterial targets effectively in the plant environment, tailoring approaches for specific crops and diseases.

Microbiome impact:We explore how phages shape the wider plant microbiome using metagenomics, and how these shifts affect plant health, resilience, and productivity.

Research: Technical Summary

There is an urgent need for new ways to control crop pathogens without relying on antibiotics. My group focuses on developing phage therapy to target bacterial pathogens that are otherwise difficult to manage.

We isolate phages from plants and soil, then fully characterize them using genome sequencing, electron microscopy, receptor analysis, resistance assays, and bothin vitroandin plantatesting. We evaluate their ability to reduce bacterial populations directly in the plant environment.

To understand phage–bacteria–plant interactions, we use genetic engineering and fluorescent labeling to track phage and bacterial movement within plant tissues via confocal microscopy.

We study the genetic mechanisms of resistance through passaging and co-evolution experiments in both lab and plant systems. These insights help predict resistance pathways, guide resistance management, and inform future strategies for tree and crop protection.

We also explore how phages influence the plant microbiome through metagenomic and microbiome analyses, and how these shifts affect plant health and productivity.

  • 2023-present: Assistant Professor - host responses to microbes, University of Warwick
  • 2023-present: Honorary Research Fellow, University of Birmingham
  • 2022-2023: Group Leader, University of Birmingham
  • 2020-2022: BBSRC Senior Post-Doctoral Fellow, University of Birmingham
  • 2020-2021: Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, University of Birmingham
  • 2018-2020: Horizon 2020 Senior Post-Doctoral Associate, University of Reading
  • 2016-2018: NERC Post-Doctoral Associate, University of Reading
  • 2012-2015: PhD in biological control of plant diseases, University of Reading

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