Elza Neau

Research Interests
​My career is driven by a deep passion for science and a strong commitment to plant health management, with a particular focus on plant-associated microorganisms at a molecular scale. During my Ph.D., I investigated multidrug resistance molecular mechanisms in the context of phytosanitary management of crop diseases. My work focused on Zymoseptoria tritici, a major wheat pathogen exhibiting widespread multidrug resistance in European populations.
Through this research, I developed solid expertise in molecular biology, microbiology, and fungal genomics. As a postdoctoral researcher in the Stukenbrock lab, I now aim to apply these skills to contribute to a better understanding of molecular interactions between pathogenic fungi (Zymoseptoria tritici, Cercospora beticola, Zymoseptoria passerini and Pyrenophora teres) and other microorganisms coexisting in the phyllosphere of wild relatives of cultivated crops.
In particular, my research aims to provide new insights in the mode of action and specificity of antimicrobial effectors secreted by these pathogens, and to understand how they shape microbial community structure across different infection contexts.
 
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0005-9856-9995
Researchgate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Elza-Neau-2



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Short CV
2026–present: Postdoc at Prof. Eva Stuckenbrock’s group, Environmental Genomics, Kiel University and Max-Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology, Germany.

2022-2026: Ph.D. in Microbiology. Thesis: “Multiple roads lead to multidrug resistance in phytopathogenic fungi: Zymoseptoria tritici as a case study”. UR BIOGER (Université Paris Saclay, INRAE), France. https://theses.hal.science/tel-05534608v1/file/148191_NEAU_2026_archivage.pdf

2020 - 2022: M. Sc. in Plant Biology, specialized in Plant Health Management, University of Angers, France. Thesis: “Study of the biosynthetic pathway of aldaulactone, a toxin involved in the pathogenicity of Alternaria dauci on carrot”. IRHS (INRAE, Institut agro, Université d’Angers), France. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-17441-z

2016-2020: B. Sc. in Life Sciences specialized in Plant Science and Valorization and Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Cell Biology, and Genetics. University of Poitiers, France.