In the simplest terms, Rebecca McDougal describes herself as a tree doctor, researching how to diagnose, prevent and manage forest diseases. There’s a lot more to her role than that, though.

Rebecca is a microbiologist at Scion, focused primarily on forest pathology. A typical day in the office sees her undertaking research around diseases that infect trees and forests. “A lot of the work I've done has been in radiata pine, such as looking at red needle cast, Dothistroma needle blight (a Phytophthora and fungus that kills pine needles, affecting tree growth) and other diseases such as kauri dieback.

Phytophthora are pathogens that attack foliage or roots and cause plants and trees to decline and possibly die, leading to economic loss in crops and negative ecosystem impacts).

Her work also involves developing diagnostic tools using DNA, sequencing genomes and comparing populations of fungi or Phytophthora. “I’ve been working to understand populations of organisms in nurseries for the past few years as well, because we don't want to see pathogens that can infect or kill trees – or prevent their growth – spreading to the environment.”

Work and play

Rebecca grew up in rural Raetihi – where her parents farmed – so her passion for the environment developed naturally.

She attended Ruapehu College before heading to Otago University to start a health sciences degree. “I was thinking I might do medicine or pharmacy,” she says. “But when I took the microbiology papers they really captured me. I had fabulous professors who gave the most interesting lectures and did inspirational research.”

So she changed her path, made microbiology her major and has no regrets. She went on to complete postgraduate studies for her MSc and PhD – investigating environmental bacteria that degrade DDT (dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane – a persistent organic pollutant) and other chemical residues in the soil – before starting a post-doctoral position at Massey University.

This – her first foray into Forest Pathology – saw her investigating potential biocontrol options for Dothistroma needle blight and working closely with Scion researchers. It ultimately led to her applying for a role at Scion.

She has maintained her collaborations with Massey ever since and says she can’t stress enough the value of enduring collaborations.

Her early farm life set the scene for adulthood; she and husband Dave – who she met while at Otago – now have a five-acre lifestyle block in Rotorua. “Between Dave and I and (children) Emma and George, we manage it pretty well.

As a family they enjoy tramping and doing outdoor activities. “Biking and walks and that kind of thing,” Rebecca says. “We try and get outdoors with the kids.”

They biked the Old Coach Rd in 2024 and recently they went to the Whanganui River, to the Bridge to Nowhere and canoed back to Pipiriki. “There are too many adventures to pick a favourite, but one of our favourite local day walks is Rainbow Mountain,” Rebecca says.

Research impact

Rebecca’s love of the outdoors goes hand in hand with her interest in how to control diseases; her background has included working in biosecurity at the Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI). “I really enjoy the biosecurity side of microbiology,” she says. “There are all sorts of entry points at which a pathogen can become a problem for a forest down the track.

“The other part of biosecurity I really enjoy is working with the growers – understanding how things work operationally and how my research can have an impact on production and natural ecosystems.”

In 2024 Rebecca went to Spain on an industry trip to look at diseases and other threats in Spanish forests, which are similar to New Zealand ones. “Foresters there are no longer planting radiata pine because of all the threats these trees are facing. “We’re working now to consider how we can ensure we don't end up with similar threats here.”

Part of her work now involves looking at environmental DNA and RNA, which allows Scion to characterise the organisms in a sample and assess the risk associated with their detection. This work is funded by Better Border Biosecurity, a science collective that researches ways to reduce the entry and establishment of new plant pests and diseases in New Zealand.

2025 goals

Throughout 2025 Rebecca is keen to progress a few projects, such as building relationships with mana whenua to help combat a new disease that affects tōtara trees. “Building relationships takes time but we’ve got fabulous Te Ao Māori support at Scion.”

Nursery diseases and Phytophthora are an ongoing research focus for her, and she’d like to see the team she works with supported to take their research into the new bioeconomy public research organisation. “There are some big changes coming up and we want to ensure we maintain our ability to do this work – because it matters to New Zealand.”