 | | Ben Alsop |
Benjamin Paul Alsop
Graduate Research Assistant
Department of Plant Pathology
University of Minnesota 1070 Fifth Street East
St. Paul, MN. 55106
410-499-4242 Email: alsop002@umn.edu Graduate Advisor: Dr. Brian Steffenson
| 2004 - present | PhD Candidate, Plant Pathology
University of Minnesota
| | 2000-2004 | MS, Plant Breeding and Genetics
University of Minnesota
| | 1998-2000 | BS, Plant Biology
University of Maryland-College Park |
Research Focus
My main interest in plant pathology is the utilization of wild species to incorporate genetic diversity into cultivated germplasm. My research is focused in the utilization of Hordeum vulgare subsp. spontaneum, the wild progenitor of barley (Hordeum vulgare subsp. vulgare), to identify and incorporate novel genetic loci for disease resistance and malting quality. I am working with two doubled-haploid populations created from intra-specific wild x cultivated crosses. The wild parent in each cross was collected in Israel and selected based upon their resistance to six major barley pathogens. The diseases caused by these pathogens are spot blotch, net blotch, Septoria speckled leaf blotch, stem rust, leaf rust, and powdery mildew. I have phenotyped these populations for their reactions to these pathogens and genotyped them with the DArT marker system. Mapping and QTL analysis have revealed several major and minor loci for disease resistance derived from the wild germplasm. I am currently working at crossing select progeny of these crosses into Minnesota barley breeding lines and using marker-assisted selection to incorporate novel alleles.
Professional Experience
| 2007 | Guest Lecturer
University of Minnesota | | 2007 | Teaching Assistant, laboratory section
Introduction to Plant Pathology (PLPA 2001) | | 2005, 2006 | Teaching Assistant, laboratory section
Plants get sick too (PLPA 1005) | | 2005 | Internship
Diversity Arrays Technology Pty Ltd (DArT). Canberra, Australia.
| | 2005 | Teaching Assistant, laboratory section
Pest and Crop Protection (AGRI 3001) | | 2002 | Teaching Assistant, laboratory section
Biology of Plant Food Systems (AGRO 1101) | | 1999-2000 | Laboratory Assistant
USDA-ARS Climate Stress Laboratory
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Awards and Honors
| 2007 | M. F. Kernkamp Scholarship
Department of Plant Pathology, University of Minnesota. |
Presentations
Plant and Animal Genome, 2007 Annual Meeting, San Diego, CA Presented a poster presentation on the research I conducted during my PhD degree program at the University of Minnesota. American Society of Agronomy, 2003 Annual Meeting, Denver, CO Presented an oral presentation on the research I conducted during my master’s degree program at the University of Minnesota. | 
