Sophien Kamoun's Biography

Sophien Kamoun, Senior Research Scientist/Head, Sainsbury Laboratory

Sophien Kamoun joined The Sainsbury Laboratory in 2007 and rose to Head of Laboratory in 2009. He also holds the rank of Professor of Biology at The University of East Anglia. Prof. Kamoun received his B.S. degree from Pierre and Marie Curie University, Paris, France, and his Ph.D. in Genetics from the University of California at Davis in 1991. He then was a postdoctoral fellow at the NSF Center for Engineering Plants for Resistance Against Pathogens, UC Davis, and at the Department of Phytopathology, Wageningen University, Netherlands. From 1998-2007, Prof. Kamoun carried out research on oomycete molecular genetics on the faculty at the Ohio State University, Department of Plant Pathology, Wooster campus. At The Sainsbury Laboratory, Prof. Kamoun continues to exploit genomics resources to improve understanding of plant pathosystems, unravel novel processes and concepts in plant-microbe interactions, and devise original disease management strategies based on the gained knowledge. Throughout his career, Prof. Kamoun has made unique and ground-breaking contributions to understanding plant-parasite interactions. His work on oomycete effector biology and pathogenomics has resulted in new approaches to breeding disease resistant crops.