About

Darryl Herron is a Pathogen Diagnostics and Collections Lead. His focus will be on helping lead Scion’s Diagnostic Service and driving an emerging threats research programme linked to work being done in diagnostics.

Qualifications

• PhD (Microbiology), University of Pretoria, South Africa – in completion
• MSc (Microbiology), University of Pretoria, South Africa - 2014
• BSc (Hons) (Microbiology), University of Pretoria, South Africa - 2008

Research capabilities

• Forest pathology
• Fungal pathogen and insect pest diagnostics
• Fungal Biology
• Experimental design and statistical analyses
• Phylogenetics
• Systematics

Career highlights

• Assistant Research Leader, Scion, 2020
• TPCP Field Extension Officer, FABI, University of Pretoria, 2019 – 2020
• TPCP Diagnostic Clinic Manager, FABI, University of Pretoria, 2011 – 2019
• FameLab South Africa, National Finalist, 2018
• South African Young Academy of Science blogger, 2018

Selected papers

Herron DA, Wingfield MJ, Fru F, Wingfield BD, Steenkamp ET. 2020 Grasses as a refuge for Fusarium circinatum – Evidence from South Africa. Southern Forests: a Journal of Forest Science 82: 253-262

Herron DA, Wingfield MJ, Wingfield BD, Rodas CA, Marincowitz S, Steenkamp ET, 2015. Novel taxa in the Fusarium fujikuroi species complex from Pinus spp. Studies in Mycology 80: 131-150

Wingfield BD, Steenkamp ET, Santana QC, Coetzee MPA, Bam S, Barnes I, Beukes CW, Chane W-Y, de Vos L, Fourie G, Friend M, Gordon TR, Herron DA, et al., 2012 First fungal genome sequence from Africa: a preliminary analysis. South African Journal of Science 108:104-122