
The case for renewal of CONNECTED: network members speak
3rd February 2020
CONNECTED is a fixed-term project, funded by the UK government until December 2020. If the growing 1,400-plus member network is going to continue to extend its influence, renewal of the project into 2021 and beyond is vital. The network’s members are its greatest…

Reflecting on 2019 … looking ahead to 2020
16th December 2019
As we head towards the end of 2019, the CONNECTED Network is reflecting on some of the highlights of the year, and looking ahead to the next 12 months. Here are a few 2019 highlights in numbers: 1,300 network members & counting 3…

Maize lethal necrosis: Assessing virus diversity and identifying uncharacterised viruses
12th December 2019
This is one of a series of articles about the 20 research projects for which CONNECTED provided pump-prime funding. A full set of articles about all 20 projects can be found here. Tracking genetic diversity and development of diagnostic tools for maize lethal…

Skills boost for over 600 follows ‘amazingly successful’ vector and virus diagnostics training
5th December 2019
Early career researchers have declared a five-day introductory level vector and virus diagnostics course a resounding success. 18 delegates from 12 countries were awarded places on ‘The application of molecular diagnostics for plant virus surveillance,’ organised by the CONNECTED Network in partnership with…

Young African scientists can make an impact: reflections on The 2019 Grand Challenges meeting
25th November 2019
Two African early career researchers who attended the Grand Challenges Annual Meeting in Ethiopia in late October 2019, have been reflecting on their experiences and learning from the event. Richard Wyatt, CONNECTED Communications Officer, caught up with them soon after their return from…

CONNECTED training: a massive opportunity for our career development
18th November 2019
This blog was written by Mr. John Oladokun, Mr. Mohamad Halabi and Ms. Parinda Barua, three members of the CONNECTED Network, who successfully applied for CONNECTED Training Voucher funding If you are an early career researcher (ECR) looking for a group to discuss…

New training opportunity: funded places on Bioinformatics course
14th November 2019
CONNECTED is pleased to open another new training opportunity to our network members… We will fully fund two places on a bioinformatics course in Sweden. The course starts on 20 January 2020, so the application window is a small one, closing on 28…

Two network members’ excitement for the Grand Challenges Annual Meeting
5th November 2019
Two African early career researchers who are members of the CONNECTED Network attended the Grand Challenges Annual Meeting in late October 2019. Sergine Ngatat, from Cameroon, and Tendekai Mahlanza, from South Africa, travelled to Ethiopia for the event, which took place in Addis…

Vector-borne plant virus training features in new seven-minute film
1st November 2019
A group of African early career researchers feature in a new short film about vector-borne plant viruses that devastate crops in Sub-Saharan African countries. The seven-minute film focuses on the ground-breaking Virus-Vector Vice-Versa training course for early career researchers, run by the CONNECTED…

Collaborations: CONNECTED Pump Prime Funding Awards Phase Two
24th September 2019
Following the second phase of its pump-prime-funded (PPF) programme, the CONNECTED Virus Network is pleased to present an overview of the 11 funded research projects now being undertaken, or shortly to start work. The projects will be carried out in 11 countries: Cote…