Andrea Harper

Dr. Andrea Harper is a Senior Lecturer in Plant Biology and Director of Postgraduate Research at the University of York's Centre for Novel Agricultural Products (CNAP). Her work focuses on understanding genetic mechanisms that enhance plant resilience to environmental stresses, particularly in crops like wheat and ash trees. She leads the Harper Lab, which investigates plant responses to abiotic stress (e.g., drought, heat) and biotic threats (e.g., bacterial wilt, ash dieback).

Her research combines genomic and transcriptomic approaches with field and lab experiments. Key projects include developing climate-resilient wheat varieties, biocontrol strategies against Ralstonia solanacearum, and identifying genetic markers for ash tree tolerance to dieback disease. She actively collaborates with international teams and has secured grants from the BBSRC and other funding bodies.

• Research Themes: Plant stress biology, crop improvement, genomic analysis, disease resistance.
• Key Projects: Wheat sustainability, ash dieback resilience, phage-based biocontrol.
• Grants & Collaborations: BBSRC-funded projects on Ralstonia control and nitrogen-fixing endophytes in vertical farming.

Dr. Harper teaches plant genetics and breeding, emphasizing cutting-edge techniques like omics data analysis. She supervises interdisciplinary student projects integrating molecular biology, bioinformatics, and fieldwork. Her lab’s datasets, including genomic comparisons of ash tree tolerance, are publicly available through platforms like NCBI and GEO.