Rebecca Nelson

Principal Investigator

Professor
Plant Pathology & Plant-Microbe Biology
Plant Breeding & Genetics
International Agriculture & Rural Development

Scientific Director
McKnight Foundation Collaborative Crop Research Program

Judy Kolkman

Postdoctoral Associate

PhD, MSU, Plant Breeding & Genetics

I am interested in plant breeding, crop improvement, and utilizing various populations to understand the genetic underpinnings of disease resistance in crop plants.

Molly Towne

Administrative Assistant

Shan Jin

Lab Manager

PhD, Pennsylvania State University

I am interested in maize genetic diversity, maize pathogen or insect interactions, and field work. Plants do not speak or talk, but they tell us a lot about themselves if we carefully listen.

Meriem Aoun

Postdoctoral Associate

My research focusses on mycotoxins and grain sorting to mitigate aflatoxin contamination in maize

Tyr Wiesner-Hanks

PhD Candidate

My research explores the genetics of resistance to northern corn leaf blight, particularly pleiotropic effects of resistance loci and high-throughput phenotyping of disease in the field.

Danilo Moreta

PhD Student

My research focuses on the genetic dissection of ear rot resistance and mycotoxin contamination in maize, and on understanding genotype-by-environment-by-microbiome-by-mycotoxin interactions.

Anthony Wenndt

PhD Candidate

I am interested in the management and ecology of toxigenic fungi, and the impacts of these organisms on global agriculture and food security.

Anne Repka

Lab Technician

My research uses the NAM NIL population to investigate potential pleiotropies for kernel/ear morphophysiology and Fumonisin accumulation, as well as the impact of the lignin biosynthesis pathway on Northern Leaf Blight.

Laura Morales

PhD 2017, Plant Breeding & Genetics

Guest Scientist, Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology

Dissertation: Dissection of the genetics and mechanisms conferring resistance to Fusarium verticillioides in maize

Jenny Cornell

MSc 2016, Plant Breeding & Genetics

Samuel Mutiga

PhD 2015, Plant Pathology & Plant-Microbe Biology

Postdoctoral research associate, University of Arkansas

Dissertation: Insights Into the Genetic and Environmental Bases of Mycotoxin Contamination in Kenyan Maize

Tiffany Jamann

PhD 2014, Plant Pathology & Plant-Microbe Biology

Assistant Professor, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

Dissertation: Insights Into Disease Resistance: Genetic Architecture, Genes, and Pleiotropy in Maize

Jaci Benson

PhD 2013, Plant Breeding & Genetics

Trait Introgression Breeder, Monsanto

Dissertation: Resistance to Gray Leaf Spot of Maize: Underlying Genetic Architecture and Associated Mechanisms

Ting Ting Ma

MPS 2013, Plant Breeding & Genetics

Project Paper: Exploring and Characterizing Major Resistance Genes for Northern Leaf Blight in Maize

Santiago Mideros

PhD 2011, Plant Pathology & Plant-Microbe Biology

Assistant Professor, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Dissertation: Resistance to Aflatoxin Accumulation In Maize

Lin-Si Hsieh

MSc 2011, Plant Pathology & Plant-Microbe Biology

Thesis: Coexistence of Sibling Species of Cercospora Causing Gray Leaf Spot on Maize in Southern New York State

Chia-Lin Chung

PhD 2010, Plant Pathology & Plant-Microbe Biology

Assistant Professor, National Taiwan University

Dissertation: Mapping and Characterization of Loci Conditioning Quantitative Disease Resistance in Maize

Jesse Poland

PhD 2010, Plant Breeding & Genetics

Research Geneticist, USDA-ARS
Adjunct Professor, Kansas State University

Dissertation: The Genetic Architecture of Quantitative Disease Resistance in Maize

Randy Wisser

PhD 2006, Plant Breeding & Genetics

Professor, University of Delaware

Dissertation: The Genetic Architecture of Quantitative Resistance in the Cereals