Plants cannot run away when under attack, and so must stand and fight. To combat pests and pathogens, plants have evolved highly sophisticated molecular surveillance and response machinery. Understanding plant–insect and plant–microbe interactions forms a vital component of informed ecosystem management, and drives innovation for sustainable crop production. Phytobiomes, the study of plants together with the communities of other organisms associated with them, is an exciting area of plant science that encompasses many disciplines including ecology, microbiology, genomics, biochemistry and bioinformatics. My lab uses model plants such as strawberry (Fragaria) and barley (Hordeum) to study biotic interactions and address research questions such as: 1) How do different environments change the phytobiomes associated with a plant species? 2) Which micro-organisms influence the virulence of phloem-feeding insects, and how? 3) Can the phytobiome be manipulated to improve plant resistance? 4) Which plant genes modulate interactions with microbes and insects? These projects will include working with plants in the field, the greenhouse and the lab, and are designed to provide students with a solid experience in doing molecular biology research.