Areas of expertise
About
My research focuses on the evolution and diversity of fungal threats to plants and people with interests in the genetic basis of disease emergence and host specialization, the evolution of fungicide resistance and fungal mating systems, and the taxonomy and systematics of fungi causing emerging plant diseases. I am interested in understanding how agriculture shapes fungal evolution. Recent work in my lab is concentrated on azole resistance in the human pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus in environmental settings.
My instructional expertise is in all things related to fungi and mycology, including genetics, ecology, evolution, cell biology, cultivation, taxonomy, systematics, identification, medical mycology, emerging diseases, and the impact of fungi on human civilization.
Education
Doctor of Philosophy, Plant Pathology/Phytopathology
Cornell University, NY, United States (2011)
Master of Science, Plant Sciences, General
University of Maine, ME, United States (2003)
Awards and Honors
- College Nominee for Richard B. Russell Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, 2018 (2018)
- 2016 Public Service and Outreach Fellowship Award (2016)
- CAES Undergraduate Research Mentor of the Year Nominee (2016)
- Focus on Faculty (2016)
- Schroth Faces of the Future – Mycology (2013)
Scholarly Works
- Evolutionary history and variation in host range of three Stagonosporopsis species causing gummy stem blight of cucurbits, FUNGAL BIOLOGY, (2015).
- First Report of Fusarium Wilt of Cotton Caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp vasitzfectum Race 4 in Texas, USA, PLANT DISEASE, (2018).
- Development of microsatellite markers from the transcriptome of Erysiphe necator for analysing population structure in North America and Europe, PLANT PATHOLOGY, (2012).
- Fine mapping of fw3.2 controlling fruit weight in tomato, THEORETICAL AND APPLIED GENETICS, (2012).
- Genetic Diversity and Population Structure of Cucurbit Gummy Stem Blight Fungi Based on Microsatellite Markers, PHYTOPATHOLOGY, (2015).
Contact
Mailing Address
Department of Plant Pathology, University of Georgia
2105 Miller Plant Sciences Bldg
Athens, GA 30602-7274
Shipping Address
120 Carlton Street
2105 Miller Plant Sci Bldg
Athens, GA 30602-7274
