Plant Disease Biology and Disease Management
Our researchers are studying plant disease etiology, epidemiology, biology, and control. Significant research areas include fungal diseases of wheat and other small grains, soybean, corn, and forests. We also have significant emphases on plant virology, nematology, diseases of horticultural crops, and biocontrol of diseases in the agricultural setting.
Genetics, Genomics and Application of Plant Disease Resistance
Our researchers are working at landscape, field, whole plant, and molecular scales to understand plant responses to pathogens, to study the evolution of disease resistance in plants, and to identify and deploy genetic resistance for crop and forest protection. We are leading efforts to develop genomics, informatics, and phenomics methods to fully capitalize upon crop wild relatives for plant improvement in the face of a changing global climate. Our researchers are also studying the evolution of plant disease resistance genes as a function of pathogen diversity.
Microbial Biology, Pathogenomics and Microbiome research
Knowledge gained from the study of plant pathogens at the population and molecular levels is being translated into pathogen monitoring applications, improved crop genetics, and effective disease management strategies. Our current research recognizes that microbes other than pathogens can impact plant health, often in positive ways, and we are studying microbial population dynamics to understand both plant impacts on microbial communities and microbial community impacts on plant health.