James Snowden

James is Laboratory Manager for the Tree Health pathology, entomology and advisory laboratories in the Main building at Alice Holt.

James graduated from the University of the West of England, Bristol, with a BSc (Hons) in Biological Sciences in 2017 after working on influenza C virus at APHA using molecular techniques during his placement year. He completed his Masters by Research in 2022 with the University of Exeter and has graduated from the Forestry Commission’s Professional Manager Programme

He joined Forest Research as a Pathology Diagnostic Research Assistant in the Tree Health Research Group in 2017 working on Phytophthora ramorum. Until July 2022 he worked as a Research Scientist on Dothistroma needle blight and Heterobasidion using molecular techniques, including qPCR, PCR, DNA, and RNA extraction.

Affiliations

Member of the Microbiology Society
Member of the Royal Society of Biology
Member of the British Society for Plant Pathology

BSc (Hons), MbyRes

+44 (0)300 067 5764

james.snowden@forestresearch.gov.uk

Laboratory Manager Tree Health Laboratories

Tree health

Alice Holt

Alice Holt Lodge

Wrecclesham

Farnham

Surrey

Other Research

Surveillance, diagnosis and epidemiology of Dothistroma needle blight (DNB)/L. acicola in English and Scottish forest nurseries. Undertaking sample diagnosis using qPCR-based tests, including surveillance for non-native Dothistroma pini in Scotland.
Led molecular research aspects of a study of Dothistroma septosporum mycoviruses and variation in D. septosporum pathogenically in collaboration with Imperial College and the University of Hertfordshire.
Investigated the efficacy of fungicide treatments against DNB and Heterobasidion root and butt rot.
Surveillance, diagnosis and epidemiology of Phytophthora ramorum using qPCR and PCR-based tests and mapping of results in Britain.
Collation and interpretation of biological data, contributing to technical reports and publication.

Peer reviewed journal articles

Snowden, J.C., Studholme, D. and Tubby, K. (2020) Molecular and Behavioral Characterization and Identification of Dothistroma Species in Britain and New Zealand, Microbiology Society Annual Conference 2020, Edinburgh

Daudu, J., Snowden, J.C., Tubby, K., Coutts, R and Kotta-Loizou, I. (2019) Studying a mycovirus from Dothistroma septosporum, causative agent of pine needle blight. Access Microbiology, 1:1A https://doi.org/10.1099/acmi.ac2019.po0502

Daudu, J., Snowden, J.C., Tubby, K., Coutts, R and Kotta-Loizou, I. (2019) Studying a mycovirus from Dothistroma septosporum, causative agent of pine needle blight. Microbiology Society Annual Conference 2019. Paper A076. Belfast. April 2019.

Snowden, J.C. and Tubby, K. (2019) Review of diagnostic research on Dothistroma (red) needle blight in the UK. U.K. Forest Pathology Meeting 2019. John Innes Centre. Lanivet, Cornwall UK.

Nash, B., Coward, V., Hill, H., Kelly, M., Snowden, J., Brookes, S.M., Webby, R., Eckard, L., Brown, I.H. (2015) Influenza C in the UK bovine population and its correlation with cases of bovine pneumonia as a possible causative agent. International Society for Influenza and Other Respiratory Virus Diseases, 3rd International Symposium on Neglected Influenza Viruses. Athens, GA USA.