Sarah is a research scientist specialising in field pathology. She is the department’s first plant pathologist based in the Kimberley region and has built relationships with local industry and stakeholders to understand and document disease pressures in the Ord River Irrigation Area and the wider far north of Western Australia.

Sarah has a strong network with a range of experienced plant pathologists across northern Australia, which has been facilitated by her recent secondment to the North Australian Quarantine Strategy (NAQS). During which, Sarah was involved in a range of activities, such as plant health surveys, laboratory pathogen identifications, molecular diagnostics, as well as extension and stakeholder engagement.

Sarah is currently working on identifying and controlling an unknown disease that devastated Plantago crops in the area last season, and a recurring disease that negatively impacts yields of Kimberley large chickpeas around the region.