Each year, Wall Fellowships and Wall Research prestigious UBC awards provide funding to push forward innovative faculty and student research tackling major sustainability challenges in British Columbia and around the world.
ASHER LEEKS - Lead PI - Wall research award - team faculty award
Sociovirology for sustainable management of grapevine leafroll disease: grapevine leafroll disease poses a severe challenge for B.C.’s wine industry, affecting three-quarters of newly planted vines and reducing grape quality and yields. With no cure available, growers often remove infected vines, creating waste and increasing reliance on imported plants and chemical treatments. This research will use sociovirology – an emerging field that explores interactions between viruses – to develop more sustainable disease management strategies, including identifying plants that can safely remain in vineyards and using beneficial viruses to protect against disease. The project will advance environmentally friendly approaches to support a resilient B.C. wine industry.