Kamoun Lab @ TSL

We're pleased and honoured to host Striga wizard Steven Runo @Striga_Steve on sabbatical from Kenyatta University, Nairobi, Kenya. Steven is supported by a @royalsociety Wolfson Visiting Fellowship. He was awarded the 2020 Royal Society Africa Prize.

Welcome Steven!

We welcome to the team JP--Juan Pablo Guzman Alvarez 🇨🇴-- our Innovation Design Engineer holding an MA/MSc @RoyalCollegeof @imperialcollege

We’re celebrating the Persian new year, based on the calendar developed in the 11th c by the renowned Persian mathematician and astronomer Omar Khayyam 🪐

For many of us, this society has been more than a professional organization—it’s been our scientific home and identity. Over the years, the MPMI community has shepherded discoveries that reached far beyond plant-microbe interactions: Agrobacterium DNA transfer, immune receptors, RNAi, TAL effectors, and much more.

Many of you know that the last few years haven’t been entirely smooth. That’s why the decision by Jean and the Board to transition the society to self-management is both bold and necessary. Kudos to them for not sitting idle and taking action.

Now it’s our turn.

Our field is thriving—both through fundamental discoveries and through impactful applications. To carry IS-MPMI into its next chapter, the society will need the energy and participation of its members.

So please consider getting involved. Volunteer. Share ideas. Help shape what comes next—whether you’re an early-career scientist or a long-time member of the community.

As a past President of IS-MPMI, I want to thank Jean and the Board for their leadership and courage.

The next chapter starts now. See you in Jeju!

Sophien Kamoun

The Sainsbury Laboratory

Past-President, IS-MPMI

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jean-greenberg-4469a118/

As part of our partnership with Khalifa Center in Al Ain, UAE, we animated this workshop on February 10th, 2026

Open Science, Global Impact: Elevating Your Institute and Career

Speakers: Sophien Kamoun & Nick Talbot

Summary

How can open science amplify both institutional reputation and individual careers? This talk explores the scientist’s core mission—producing and communicating knowledge—and argues that modern publishing practices are transforming how research achieves visibility and impact. From preprints and community peer review to datasets and mini-papers, open science accelerates dissemination while preserving rigor, credit, and collaboration. Participants will gain practical insights into building a publishing strategy that enhances international profile, strengthens reproducibility, and contributes to a more transparent and effective research culture.

Key themes:

Science as a moral duty to distinguish sense from nonsense

Publishing as the primary vehicle for communicating research

Preprints and new publication formats as engines of rapid, citable discovery

Open science as accessibility, transparency, and collaboration—compatible with peer review

Links

Blog: https://kamounlab.medium.com/list/sciencea-user-guide-1137d4254505

Just published: The Sainsbury Laboratory receives support from Google.org for AI science research

“...opportunity to scale our AlphaFold screening capabilities and predict millions of protein-protein interactions between pathogens and plants."

New Year Lunch 2026

It’s that time of year when we recap our team’s publications and other highlights.

Check the article here.

Google DeepMind visits TSL

Why you should sequence your plasmids (and how to do it for free)

Through our non-profit @GetGenome, scientists in 100 countries can access free whole-plasmid sequencing — removing barriers, improving quality control, and giving researchers the confidence to move their experiments forward.