Staff Profile

Research Interests

My research interests are in two areas:

1. Plant-pathogen interactions, decomposition of plant material and biological control of plant diseases.
2. Regulation of gene expression and molecular systematics of oil-producing green algae, including Botryococcus and Parachlorella.

Recent Research Students

Abdallah Aada: Identification of pathogens and control of spot blotch disease of barley (Hordeum vulgare) by combining plant resistance and biological control. Completed 2013.

Abdulmajeed Mlitan: Effects of cement dust and its constituents on fungal growth. Completed 2010.

Undergraduate Teaching

Stage 1:

ACE1022 Crop Pests (contributor)
BIO1001 Cell Biology 1 (contributor)
BIO1010 Biology in Action (contributor)

Stage 2:

BIO2012 Molecular Genetics and Mammalian Biochemistry (module leader)
BIO2022 Metabolism and Development (module leader)
BIO2023 Cell Biology 2 (module leader)

Stage 3:

ACE3037 Crop Pests Field Course (contributor)
BIO3004 Plant Biology 3 (contributor)
BIO3032 Cell Biology 3 (module leader)
BIO3197 Biological Literature Review (contributor)
BIO3198 Biological Information Project (contributor)
BIO3199 Biological Research Project (contributor)

Postgraduate Teaching

BIO8009 Fundamentals of Cell and Molecular Biology (module leader)

• Aada AM, Hack E. The effect of the biological control agent Trichoderma harzianum T-22 on spot blotch disease in Libyan barley cultivars in a field experiment. IOBC-WPRS Bulletin 2013, 89, 219-225.
• Robertson S, Mason S, Hack E, Abbott GD. A comparison of lignin oxidation, enzymatic activity and fungal growth during white-rot decay of wheat straw. Organic Geochemistry 2008, 39(8), 945-951.
• Senousy HH, Beakes GW, Hack E. Phylogenetic placement of Botryococcus braunii (Trebouxiophyceae) and Botryococcus sudeticus isolate UTEX 2629 (Chlorophyceae). Journal of Phycology 2004, 40(2), 412-423.
• Emami K, Hack E. Conservation of XYN11A and XYN11B xylanase genes in Bipolaris sorghicola, Cochliobolus sativus, Cochliobolus heterostrophus, and Cochliobolus spicifer. Current Microbiology 2002, 45(4), 303-306.
• Emami K, Hack E. Characterisation of a xylanase gene from Cochliobolus sativus and its expression. Mycological Research 2001, 105(3), 352-359.
• Moubasher MH, Hack E. Fenugreek seed saponins and their antifungal effect on two races of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici. African Journal of Mycology and Biotechnology 2000, 8, 11-21.
• Emami K, Nelson A, Hack E, Zhang JW, Green DH, Caldwell GS, Mesbahi E. MALDI-TOF Mass Spectrometry Discriminates Known Species and Marine Environmental Isolates of Pseudoalteromonas. Frontiers in Microbiology 2016, 7, 104.
• Emami K, Hack E, Nelson A, Brain CM, Lyne FM, Mesbahi E, Day JG, Caldwell GS. Proteomic-based biotyping reveals hidden diversity within a microalgae culture collection: An example using Dunaliella. Scientific Reports 2015, 5, 10036.
• Abbott GD, Fletcher IW, Tardio S, Hack E. Exploring the geochemical distribution of organic carbon in early land plants: a novel approach. Philosophical Transactions B: Biological Sciences 2018, 373(1739), 20160499.