-Magdalen Lindeberg

Congratulations to Adrienne Gorny and Margaret Krause, recipients of the Barbara McClintock Graduate Student Award for 2018.

Adrienne Gorny is a graduate student in the SIPS Plant Pathology and Plant-Microbe Biology Section, working in the program of Sarah Pethybridge. Gorny’s research is focused on developing tests for soilborne plant pathogens for use by growers and industry stakeholders. As part of her research she has developed an accurate and reliable technique for extracting DNA directly from soil to quantify populations of plant-pathogenic nematodes.  These methods enable growers and extension educators to make informed disease management decisions based on highly accurate information and could eventually be developed into a “one stop test” for other soilborne pathogens including fungi and bacteria.

Margaret Krause is a graduate student in the SIPS Plant Breeding and Genetics Section, co-advised by Mark Sorrells and Mike Gore. While at Cornell, Krause first worked with Gore as part of a large multi-disciplinary team in a collaborative research initiative with the New York Corn and Soybean Growers Association. The project aimed to optimize variable rate planting technologies through modeling soil and topographical features in a diverse grower fields. She has also conducted research at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) on aerial phenotyping of wheat for rapid and more accurate yield prediction.

The Barbara McClintock Graduate Student Award is made possible by an endowment from Dr. Robert Rabson to honor outstanding senior graduate students studying in the Plant Sciences (Plant Biology, Plant Pathology & Plant-Microbe Biology, Plant Breeding, Horticulture or Soil & Crop Sciences) at Cornell. It is awarded annually and students are selected based on their academic, research, teaching, and outreach achievements as well as on their potential to continue an outstanding career in the Plant Sciences. Income from the fund is used to support training of the awardees.