Many members of UMN Plant Pathology headed south to Memphis for the American Phytopathological Society meeting, Plant Health 2024, from July 27-30, 2024. From postering and presenting to networking and reconnecting with collaborators at other institutions, there was much to do! Here are some highlights, as told by department members:
Oadi Matny: Postering and Presenting Research
“I presented part of my project on improving stem rust resistance in barley. In this work, we have mapped a gene, which will be named rpg8. The APS conference is a great place for plant pathologists to meet colleagues in the same field, build networks, and collaborate with scientists and researchers.”—Oadi Matny
Pranaya Kaki: Workshops and Networking
“At the APS conference, I attended a workshop on Microbiome Networks in R, which I found highly beneficial for my current research project. Additionally, I established connections with a company working on the microbes included in my study, and they expressed significant interest in receiving updates on my ongoing research. Lastly, I had the opportunity to interact with professionals specializing in antimicrobial compounds.”
Ruth Dill-Macky: Leadership Forum
“I attended the Academic Unit Leadership Forum that was held at APS. This was an opportunity for the Chairs and Heads of the Plant Pathology Departments across the country to meet together and interact with APS leadership. We talked over some of the challenges our department/unit face, discussed advocacy efforts including funding for the National Plant Diagnostic Network (NPDN), and courses that we might offer collectively through APS.”
Becca Hall: Special Session
“Andrew Sathoff (a department alumnus) and I are the current chair and vice chair of the teaching committee of the American Phytopathological Society. In these roles we organized and moderated a special session titled “Hands-on Approaches for Teaching Plant Pathology to Undergraduates in Generation Z.” At this session, we had three speakers present and deliver hands-on activities that educators can bring back to their classrooms. One of our speakers was actually our own Ruth Dill-Macky who had attendees complete an ice breaker game that she has students do every spring in her PLPA 2001 course. Additionally, we had a speaker have a live cooking demonstration of mushrooms and corn smut for our 80+ attendees to try! It was such a fun and engaging way to break up the week of speakers, and it gave us a chance to network with other educators in APS. As the 2024-2025 chair of the committee I’m already starting to plan how to make these types of interactive sessions for Plant Health 2025.”
Nisha Paneru: presenting and learning
"At the APS meeting, I presented my research to all those brilliant minds. It was truly inspiring to witness their genuine curiosity on my research and to receive valuable insights as well as constructive feedback from them. Additionally, I also broadened my understanding of current research trends in plant pathology and identified areas of high demand through the various sessions I attended. Overall, it was indeed an incredible experience."
Alexis Shatrau: postering and workshop
"Here is me with my poster! At APS I got the opportunity to do a hands on workshop to learn nanopore sequencing which was very helpful! Additionally, It was great to get some valuable insights on my research from other plant pathologists by participating in the poster session."
A number of department members also shared research at postering sessions: Jyoti Sharma, Molly Veregge, Pranaya Kaki, Samantha Rude, Nisha Paneru, Jay Kim, Erin Moreau, Nick Talmo, Oadi Matny, Alexis Shatrau, Ronan Keener, Ashok Chanda, Hsuan-Fu Wang, Alisha Mildenberger, Scott Klasek, and Claudia Castell-Miller (presented by Becca Hall in her absence).
