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The John Innes Foundation is a Norwich-based charity supporting research, education, public engagement and innovation in plant and microbial science to deliver societal, environmental and commercial benefit. Each year, the John Innes Foundation awards prizes for outstanding achievements by PhD students based at institutes on the Norwich Research Park.
Up to two prizes are awarded in each of the categories - 'Excellence in Scientific Research' and 'Excellence in Science Communication'.
Dr Benedict Coombes, who completed his PhD at Earlham Institute in 2024 as part of the Norwich Research Park Biosciences Doctoral Training Partnership (NRPDTP), was awarded the prize in recognition for his excellent contributions to plant genomics while working with Prof Anthony Hall at Earlham Institute.
Benedict's PhD focused on bioinformatic approaches to explore genetic variation in wheat with the aim of helping plant breeders improve future crops.
His PhD research resulted in eight high-impact publications, with three of those as co-first author, including a collaboration with the BBSRC Wheat Research Centre at the University of Nottingham pinpointing sites of wild relative introgression , a study with the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) on heat tolerance in wheat, and revealing the impact of reference bias in hexaploid wheat.
Prof Anthony Hall, Head of Plant Genomics at Earlham Institute and Benedict’s primary supervisor said: “Ben is incredibly deserving of this award, I’ve been fortunate to be his supervisor and witness his exceptional technical skill, quality of research, and his commitment to collaborating with academic and industry partners to deliver real impact in the wheat community.”
“As a key member of the lab, Ben’s aptitude to research also extended to his support and mentorship of other students, and sharing his programming skills with colleagues.”
Benedict, who now works as a Data Scientist for startup TraitSeq, a spinout from the Earlham Institute, said: “I’m delighted to receive this award recognising my PhD research. The Earlham Institute provided an excellent environment to develop as a scientist, and my supervisor, Anthony Hall, gave me the freedom to pursue a range of ideas and research topics that truly interested me. The skills and experience I gained during my PhD have been invaluable as I’ve transitioned to conducting research in an industry setting.”
This year’s prize for Excellence in Science Communication was jointly awarded to George Seddon-Roberts and Susannah Gill at the John Innes Centre, with the second recipient for Excellence in Scientific Research awarded to Franziska Hoerbst, also at John Innes Centre.
Above image: Benedict Coombes ©TraitSeq
