Treena Burgess

Executive Director – Harry Butler Institute, Murdoch University

Professor Treena Burgess is Executive Director of the Harry Butler Institute at Murdoch University and a forest health researcher with expertise in plant pathology, mycology, biosecurity science, invasive species ecology and forest ecosystem health. Her research has focused strongly on Phytophthora biology, diversity, detection, movement and impact in natural ecosystems, plantation forestry and horticulture, including long-standing work on Phytophthora cinnamomi in Western Australia.

Treena has had a long association with the Dieback Working Group and with Murdoch University’s Centre for Phytophthora Science and Management, which has played a major role in advancing Phytophthora research, diagnostics, management and industry engagement in Australia. Her work spans beneficial and detrimental microorganisms, emerging forest diseases, invasive pathogens, biosecurity risk and the science needed to support practical management of forest and ecosystem health. At DIG 2026, she will reflect on DWG’s past, present and future, and on the long links between DWG, Murdoch University and Phytophthora research in Western Australia.

Summary of presentation:

30 years of Phytophthora Dieback research and management – the present state of play and the future direction.

Nicholas Pain

Laboratory Scientist – Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD)

Nick has worked in plant pathology since 2013. He began working at CSIRO with a team identifying Rhizoctonia solani effector genes. He also worked on the development of a biocontrol for sclerotinia stem rot on canola from initial plate assays to field trials. In 2018 Nick spent a year working as a plant pathologist in Lao PDR with Australian Volunteers International. Alongside the local government and with support from the Crawford fund, Nick worked with small-holder farmers carrying out surveillance and diagnostics in rice and horticultural crops. Since joining DPIRD WA in 2021, Nick has worked in the plant diagnostics team where he enjoys testing the wide variety of samples that arrive in the laboratory and developing new diagnostic assays.

Summary of presentation:

Combining the old and the new: Incorporating LAMP into Phytophthora soil testing.

Current soil testing for Phytophthora involves flooding soil and baiting with various host leaves for 7-10 days followed by plating onto selective media to isolate Phytophthora species. This is a time consuming process and requires significant morphological expertise. The use of loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) in diagnostics is on the rise as a quick and robust technique with high sensitivity. Following the recent publication of various Phytophthora genus and species specific LAMP primers, we began to investigate how we could incorporate LAMP into our routine soil testing process.

Sarah Sapsford

Research Fellow – Murdoch University

Phytophthora cinnamomi interacts with fire and drought to shape soil carbon and fungal functional guilds across a Mediterranean forest.