Katie J Field

Katie Jayne Field is a British bioscientist who is professor of Plant Soil Processes at the University of Sheffield. Her research considers the interactions of plants with fungi and their environment. In 2025, she was named in one of the inaugural cohorts of Royal Society Faraday Discovery Fellows.

Early life and education Field grew up in Wiltshire, England. Her parents are both keen gardeners, and she became interested in plants at an early age. She started researching mycorrhiza. She moved to the University of Sheffield for her doctoral research, where she studied genetic diversity in plants. She remained in Sheffield as a postdoctoral researcher, where was supported by Natural Environment Research Council and worked in the Department of Plant Sciences. Field demonstrated that orchids support their seedlings through underground fungal networks, which explains why common spotted-orchids grow in groups around mature plants.

In 2025, Field was named to one of the inaugural cohorts of Royal Society Faraday Discovery Fellows. As part of her fellowship she will explore how fungi are involved with crop resilience, nutrient absorption and carbon sequestration.

Field is an editor for Functional Ecology.

Selected publications