Francine Govers,Professor of Wageningen University. Her expertise:Genomics, Host parasite relationships, Mycology, Plant diseases, Plant pathogenic fungi, Oomycota, Molecular plant pathology, Fungi, Host pathogen interactions, Phytophthora infestans, Plant pathology, Plant-microbe interactions. She focuses on the biology and pathology of oomycete pathogens, in particular the late blight pathogen Phytophthora infestans that was responsible for the Irish potato famine in 1845. The more than hundred Phytophthora species cause devastating diseases on numerous crops and ornamentals and have an enormous economic impact.