PhD Candidate

Department of Crop Health
Faculty of Agriculture, Civil and Environmental Engineering
University of Rostock
Satower Str. 48
18059 Rostock

Phone: +49 (0)381 498 3171

Mail: clara.sirafuni-rostockde

I’m interested in dissecting the virulence factors of the barley leaf pathogen Rhynchosporium commune. By performing genome-wide association studies I hope to identify such virulence factors and shed light on the interaction between pathogen virulence genes and host resistance genes. This is essential for unravelling the molecular mechanisms that drive pathogen virulence. The attained knowledge can contribute to the development of sustainable and targeted plant protection strategies. Ultimately, it can provide valuable insights for barley breeders aiming to design barley cultivars with durable resistance.

• Since Nov 2025: PhD candidate, Department of Crop Health, University of Rostock, Germany
  PhD-Topic: “Dissecting the virulence components of the important barley pathogen Rhynchosporium commune in German populations”

• 2025: Project staff, Landesamt für Landwirtschaft, Lebensmittelsicherheit und Fischerei, Germany

• 2022 – 2023: MSc Plant Sciences (Specialisation: Plant Pathology and Entomology), Wageningen University and Research, The Netherlands
  MSc-Thesis: “No Broccoli without a Head: Evaluating UV Light Traps as Pull Mechanism for the Control of Contarinia nasturtii”

• 2018 – 2021: BSc Agricultural Sciences, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Germany
  BSc-Thesis: “Bedeutung des Bodenmikrobioms und phytosanitärer Maßnahmen für die Bekämpfung der Pythium Wurzelfäule“