FABI PhD student Andi Wilson relates her experiences while on a two month research visit to Department of Plant Pathology at Pennsylvania State University.

"For the next two months or so, I will be on a research visit in the Department of Plant Pathology at Pennsylvania State University. During this time, I am hoping to learn some of the ins and outs of developing and optimising a genome editing technique for use in filamentous fungi, something that I would like to use as part of my PhD. This is the same department in which Prof. Brenda Wingfield is doing her sabbatical and we’re being hosted by Prof. David Geiser of the Fusarium Research Centre."

"Having been working in the same lab in FABI for the last few years, getting to experience a completely different lab has been an exciting experience. It has been a rather rainy and cold week since I got here but despite this, it is going into Spring here so the display of flowers in and around campus is magnificent. Brenda and I spent a morning at The Arboretum at Penn State, walking through the beautiful gardens and admiring all the plant and flower varieties. I also got to attend a Stress Management discussion with the Head of Department, Carolee Bull. After the discussion, she took us on an outing for some serious stress relief - playing with puppies! This initiative was held by CAPS, the campus Counselling and Psychological Services. I am looking forward to the next two months here, there’s a lot to do and a lot to learn."