Jason Sumner-Kalkun
BSc, PhD
Jason Sumner-Kalkun
BSc, PhDEntomology Response Manager
Tree health
Forest Research, Alice Holt Lodge, Farnham, Surrey, GU10 4LH, UK
About Jason Sumner-Kalkun
Jason’s career has seen him working on a range of invertebrate pests that have significant impacts on plant health. After completing a PhD at the University of Reading exploring the microbiomes of predatory mites (Phytoseiidae) used in biological control, Jason expanded his biotechnology experience working at SASA, Edinburgh on an industry led R&D project looking at suppressive soils, soil microbiomes and biofumigation methods, to help control Potato Cyst Nematode. In 2017 Jason began working on emerging insect pests, leading projects at SASA examining the effects of psyllid vectors of plant disease managing international global projects improving our understanding of: psyllid/ Liberibacter ecology, genomics, and diagnostics; feeding behaviour; host-plant interactions; and vector-microbe interactions. Now this experience has transferred to the forestry sector and Jason is leading the Ips project management team, working to eradicate Ips typographus in the UK and understand aspects of its biology in a UK context.
What Jason does
Jason is currently covering the Entomology Response Manager role and joined FR in 2024 as the Ips project manager. Jason manages the response to outbreaks of Ips typographus and other forestry pests across the UK, offering technical advice, diagnostics, and field-based support to key stakeholders.
Jason’s key research topics and responsibilities include:
- Co-ordinates FR’s contribution to management and eradication programmes for forestry pests across the UK.
- Ips typographus eradication programme – Group lead and Intelligence Officer for the National Ips typographus Incident Management Team.
- Leading projects on: mortality factors, policy enhancements and smart trapping for Ips typographus – Co-investigator.
- ForestLab Pest monitoring network: Improving surveillance and awareness of Ips typographus using stewardship science – Co-investigator.
- Debarking trials – working with industry to develop phytosanitary harvesting methods, to improve control and management of Ips typographus in the UK.
Other Publications
Heaven, T., Mathers, T. C., Mugford, S. T., Jordan, A., Lethmayer, C., Nissinen, A. I., Høgetveit, L.-A., Highet, F., Soria-Carrasco, V., Sumner-Kalkun, J., Goldberg, J. K., & Hogenhout, S. A. (2025). Chromosome-Level Assemblies of Three Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum Vectors: Dyspersa apicalis (Förster, 1848), Dyspersa pallida (Burckhardt, 1986), and Trioza urticae (Linnaeus, 1758) (Hemiptera: Psylloidea). Genome Biology and Evolution, 17(6). https://doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evaf116
Sumner-Kalkun, J. C., Baxter, I., & Perotti, M. A. (2023). Bacterial microbiota of three commercially mass-reared predatory mite species (Mesostigmata: Phytoseiidae): pathogenic and beneficial interactions. Frontiers in Arachnid Science, 2. https://doi.org/10.3389/frchs.2023.1242716
Kenyon, D., Back, E., Sumner-Kalkun, J., Highet, F., Lethmayer, C., Gottsberger, R., Beniusis, A., & Pupeliene, S. (2022). Role of weed hosts as pathogen reservoirs of insect vectored diseases (WEEDVECT). Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5846219
Sumner-Kalkun, J. C., Highet, F., Arnsdorf, Y. M., Back, E., Carnegie, M., Madden, S., Carboni, S., Billaud, W., Lawrence, Z., & Kenyon, D. (2020). `Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum’ distribution and diversity in Scotland and the characterisation of novel haplotypes from Craspedolepta spp. (Psyllidae: Aphalaridae). Scientific Reports, 10(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-73382-9
Sumner-Kalkun, J., Colin, J., Gottsberger, R., Lethmayer, C., De Jonghe, K., Li, S., Lasner, H., Loiseau, M., Nissinen, A., Ilardi, V., Tjou-Tam-Sin, N., Shneyder, Y., Cermak, V., Le Roux, A. C., Bertaccini, A., Karahan, A., de la Rosa, F. S., Dreo, T., Lehtonen, M., & Pirhonen, M. (2020). The biology and epidemiology of ‘Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum’ and potato phytoplasmas and their contribution to risk management in potato and other crops (PhyLib II). Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3819420
Sumner-Kalkun, J. C., Baxter, I., & Perotti, M. A. (2020). Microscopic analysis of the microbiota of three commercial Phytoseiidae species (Acari: Mesostigmata). Experimental and Applied Acarology, 81(3), 389–408. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10493-020-00520-3
Sumner-Kalkun, J. C., Sjölund, M. J., Arnsdorf, Y. M., Carnegie, M., Highet, F., Ouvrard, D., Greenslade, A. F. C., Bell, J. R., Sigvald, R., & Kenyon, D. M. (2020). A diagnostic real-time PCR assay for the rapid identification of the tomato-potato psyllid, Bactericera cockerelli (Šulc, 1909) and development of a psyllid barcoding database. PLoS ONE, 15(3). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0230741