Sustainability Leadership Fellowship Cohort: 2013-2014

Ph.D. Student, Cell and Molecular Biology Graduate Program

Research Summary: I am a molecular plant pathologist passionate about addressing large scale problems, such as international food security and environmental sustainability, through small scale science. More than half our world relies on rice, a simple grass, for food and income. My research explores a mechanism in rice for maintaining resistance to threatening bacterial pathogens, with the ultimate goal of minimizing losses in yield and reducing chemical inputs for management. I am also developing molecular tools to rapidly and accurately identify these bacteria in the field and in quarantine offices.