Pratibha comes from the fertile plains of Nepal, also known as the ‘grain basket’ of the nation. Growing up in a farm community inspired her to pursue her higher studies in agriculture. She graduated with a BS in agriculture from Tribhuvan University, Nepal in 2016. Her undergraduate thesis on the evaluation of field efficacy of different fungicides in managing the brown leaf spot of rice, fueled her passion for research on crop protection. Following her passion, she joined the plant pathology graduate program at the University of Minnesota in Fall 2017, where she worked as a graduate research assistant in the sugar beet pathology lab, and soybean and corn disease lab. She graduated with a master’s in plant pathology in spring 2020. Her MS research focused on the evaluation of host resistance to Rhizoctonia solani in soybean and assessment of in vitro fungicide sensitivity in isolates from sugar beet and soybean.
Pratibha enrolled in the PhD program in Plant Pathology at Cornell in Fall 2020. She is interested in understanding the population biology of Cercospora beticola and exploring various strategies for the integrated management of Cercospora leaf spot in table beet. She is happy to be a part of EVADE lab and excited to explore the vegetable industry in New York. Apart from research, Pratibha loves drawing, riding a bike, hiking, and trying different cuisines.
