The FABI team had the pleasure to congratulate Kira Lynn on completing her PhD.  This marked the culmination of a seven-year journey at the Institute, which began with her B.Sc Honours project. Kira’s MSc and PhD degrees were part of the RGE-FABI Tree Health Programme, supervised by Prof. Irene Barnes and Prof. Mike Wingfield. On 24 January, she successfully defended her PhD and presented her Prestige seminar on "Detection, dispersal, and global distribution of Ceratocystis species on Eucalyptus" to a packed audience, both in person and online from around the world. Prof. Barnes commended Kira for her resilience, positive attitude, and leadership throughout the project, highlighting her embodiment of the FABI spirit. Kira also earned multiple accolades, including Mentorship Awards and the FABIan of the Year Award in 2024. Her dissertation received high praise from external examiners and globally- recognised forest health specialist, Prof. Nicola Lucci, Prof. Marc Hughes, and Dr Joey Tanney respectively from Italy, Hawaii, and Canada, who described it as exceptional, showcasing her deep understanding of the subject.                                                                                      Kira’s study focused on the detection, dispersal, and global distribution of Ceratocystis species on Eucalyptus. New outbreaks of Ceratocystis wilt in previously unreported regions are increasing in frequency and is of major concern to plantation forestry. Utilizing a large dataset of 1174 isolates collected from 11 countries and eight plant hosts, population genetics, phylogenetic analysis, and morphological comparisons were employed to confirm that Ceratocystis manginecans and C. eucalypticola are distinct species, resolving long-standing taxonomic confusion. She also developed a cutting-edge qPCR-based HRMA diagnostic tool that allows for rapid, precise species identification of these fungal pathogens directly from infected plant material and fungal cultures. This tool was successfully applied to reveal key dispersal mechanisms, including insect-mediated and airborne transmission. Sawdust from felling operations was identified as a significant source of airborne inoculum of the disease in Eucalyptus plantations for the first time. The findings from this thesis offer valuable insights into pathogen detection, dispersal, and species boundaries, providing crucial tools for effectively managing the spread of these economically significant pathogens within the global forestry industry.