Roland ‘Rolo’ Perry
Rev. 07/29/2025
Honorary Member of the Society of Nematologists
Dr. Roland Perry completed his undergraduate training Newcastle University in the UK, and his PhD from the same institution in 1976. His research during that time established himself as a world leading expert in the physiology of plant-parasitic nematodes by studying desiccation survival of Ditylenchus.
After completing his PhD, Rolo began his career-long position at Rothamsted Experiment Station where he established critical information on the physiology, biochemistry, and behavior of economically important nematodes. This information helped to develop control strategies that relied on disrupting the nematode life cycle, through exploring nematode hatching factors, invasion mechanisms, sensory perception and survival physiology.
Much of Dr. Perry's research has become the foundation for the work of nematologists around the globe.
Dr. Perry became the Head of the Research Group at Rothamsted, and was promoted to Senior Principal Scientific Officer in 1993.
Dr. Perry retired from Rothamsted in 2001 as an Honorary Scientist, the highest rank the institute can bestow. He did not slow down after retirement, and maintained his status as a Senior Visiting Research Scientist at the University of Hertfordshire, UK. Additionally, he holds Guest Professor positions at Ghent University (Belgium) and the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences in Beijing (China). Also, he has established a research cooperation at Tokyo University (Japan). Rolo is actively teaching and supervising students at all three institutions. Throughout his career he has directly supervised over 25 MSc, 17 PhD students and 7 postdocs, and served as committee member for 50 MSc and 54 PhD students. He has developed and taught ten different courses at four institutions on nematology and has given more than 40 guest lectures in over 12 countries since 2000.
Dr. Perry’s contributions to developing educational material are unparalleled. Plant Nematology, in its 3rd edition, has become a seminal textbook for any nematology student, graduate or undergraduate, and was the first of its kind in decades for our discipline. The 13 books in the Nematology Monographs and Perspectives series that Dr. Perry edited are equally unmatched in their utility in providing researchers high quality, accessible information on various important genera and topics in nematology. Besides this series ,and Plant Nematology, Dr. Perry has also served as editor on 7 other nematology textbooks. Outside editing textbooks, Dr. Perry has authored or co-authored 42 book chapters, 29 reviews, 128 peer-reviewed papers and over 140 conference abstracts.
Perhaps Rolo's most impactful role has been his service as Editor-in-Chief of Nematology, typesetting and polishing each article, which he has done since 2004. He has also held the role of Chief Editor of the Russian Journal of Nematology for over twenty years.
Amongst Dr. Perry's many accolades are numerous Fellowships, including those of the Society of Nematologists, the European Society of Nematologists, and the Association of Applied Biologists, as well as Honorary Member of the Russian Society of Nematologists.
Dr. Perry is more
than worthy of being elected an Honorary Member of the Society of Nematologists
in 2025 as there is not a nematology student or researcher that has not been
impacted by his dedication and passion for nematology and fot hid exceptional
contributions to research and education in our discipline.
Source: Society of Nemaologists