Sustainability Leadership Fellow Cohort: 2017-2018
Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Bioagricultural and Pest Management
Research Summary:I study how climate change affects plant disease in crops. Plant diseases cause a 10% reduction in food production each year, and these diseases are often more severe at high temperatures. The cause for this phenomenon is unknown. Using computational analysis and molecular biology techniques, I am investigating rice and the bacterial blight pathogen during high temperature stress. I predict that the high temperature causes imbalances in plant hormones that render plants unable to defend themselves again pathogens. My work will lead to the development of disease immunity in crops during the high temperatures associated with climate change.