“Building your network is vital”: Dr Kim Ritman award recipient shares insights for next generation

This International Day of Women and Girls in Science, Hort Innovation is celebrating Dr Nerida Donovan, recipient of the prestigious Dr Kim Ritman Award for Plant Biosecurity. This accolade, awarded to Nerida in November 2025, recognises her outstanding contribution to safeguarding Australia’s citrus industry and her commitment to building capability across the sector.

With more than two decades in citrus pathology, her work exemplifies the power of collaboration, innovation, and preparedness. We sat down with Nerida to learn more about her work, her learnings, and her advice for the next generation of women and girls in science.

Driving impact through diagnostics

To Nerida, the heart of her work, which had her awarded with the Ritman Award, is all about impact. Her approach is simple yet meaningful: focus on systems, not just symptoms. “I wasn’t a trained pathologist when I started, but having a broader capability has been a benefit. It’s about understanding the whole system,” she explains.

This allows Nerida to bring the right people together to deliver, and they certainly do deliver, working to improve diagnostic efficiency, sensitivity, and specificity. These enhancements mean faster, more accurate detection of exotic pathogens, reducing the risk of costly false positives, and enabling early eradication efforts. “The earlier we find something, the more likely we can eradicate it,” Nerida explains.

This thinking underpins national programs like CitrusWatch, which expands surveillance beyond traditional quarantine zones. By sharing protocols and positive controls with other diagnostic labs, Nerida’s team is building a networked approach to biosecurity - one that strengthens national capability and protects growers.

Dr Jessica Lye, Citrus Biosecurity Manager at Citrus Australia explained how systems thinking like this offers biosecurity perspective on the ground, demonstrating how Nerida’s work is having on farm impact. “Nerida sees the whole picture, not only the research. She and her citrus pathology team have provided a key pillar of support for CitrusWatch, enabling the program to expand exotic disease surveillance to new areas of Australia.”

“Nerida is also a long-standing member of the Citrus Pest & Disease Prevention Committee, through which the citrus industry has benefited from her expertise and importantly, her experiences and observations oversees where industries are tackling issues like huanglongbing disease.”

The power of partnerships

Nerida emphasises that success in biosecurity is rooted in collaboration. Industry-government partnerships have been critical, from the century-old citrus propagation scheme to modern surveillance programs. “Your work has to have impact, and without industry as part of the conversation, you can’t achieve that,” she says.

International collaborations also play a role. Projects supported by organisations like the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research and the Crawford Fund have provided access to materials and knowledge that feed into Hort Innovation-funded programs, creating a cycle of capability building that benefits both Australia and partnering countries.

Dr Jessica Lye added the impact these international partnerships have had on the sector: “Nerida is a born collaborator, and she recognises that we can achieve better outcomes in biosecurity by working together. I have observed the respect that Nerida’s overseas counterparts have for her, and her strong international network has regularly been an important source of information for improving preparedness in the Australian citrus industry.”

Advice for the next generation

Looking ahead, Nerida is passionate about the next generation of young scientists. Her advice? Build networks and broaden your skills. “It’s not just about technical expertise,” she says. “Relationship building and strategic thinking open doors. Take opportunities when they arise.”

As the industry faces threats like huánglóngbìng (HLB) - which has caused up to 90% production decline in some USA incursions - Nerida’s focus remains on preparedness - applying lessons learned to a wider range of pathogen threats. “There’s always more work to do,” she notes. “But building capability now means we’re ready for what’s next.”