Katie J Field

Professor Katie J Field holds the position of Professor of Plant-Soil Processes at the University of Sheffield's School of Biosciences. Her research focuses on plant-fungal symbioses, particularly mycorrhizal associations, and their role in sustainable agriculture and ecosystem dynamics. She leads projects funded by ERC, NERC, and BBSRC, exploring symbiotic nutrient exchange, evolutionary origins of plant-fungal partnerships, and climate impacts on plant-microbe interactions.

Education: PhD in Plant Sciences from the University of Sheffield (2005-2008), BSc from Durham University (2002-2005). Prior roles include Professorships at Leeds University (2017-2020) and postdoctoral research at Sheffield (2009-2015). Awards include the Philip Leverhulme Prize in Biological Sciences (2017).

Her lab investigates ancient symbioses (e.g., liverwort-fungal interactions) and modern applications in agriculture. Key projects include MYCOREV (ERC Grant, 2020-2025) and AFRICAP (GCRF, 2017-2021). She collaborates internationally on topics like Mucoromycotina endophytes and climate change mitigation through symbiotic systems.