CURRENT LAB MEMBERS
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.
Will Stafstrom
PhD Student
I am interested in researching strategies for mitigating mycotoxins in maize.
FORMER LAB MEMBERS
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