Winter greetings from KSU Plant Pathology!
Dear friends, family, and supporters of KSU Plant Pathology. Fall 2021 was another exciting semester. We welcomed several new people to the Department and said farewell to several graduates. Students and faculty earned numerous awards and special recognitions. Thank you and congratulations to everyone for your outstanding contributions in research, teaching, extension, and service.
Dr. Megan Kennelly
Awards, Recognitions, and Grants
Dr. Barbara Valent awarded the Commerce Bank Distinguished Graduate Faculty award
Dr. Barbara Valent was selected as one of the two Commerce Bank Distinguished Graduate Faculty awardees for the current academic year. This award honors current members of the graduate faculty who are recognized nationally and internationally for their outstanding scholarly achievements and for their contributions to graduate education at the university. More about the award here: https://www.k-state.edu/media/newsreleases/2021-10/dist-grad-faculty-award102721.html
Dr. Eduard Akhunov becomes Director of the Wheat Genetics Resource Center
Dr. Eduard Akhunov has stepped into the role of Wheat Genetics Resource Center (WGRC) Director as a part of his faculty appointment. Dr. Akhunov brings excellent scientific depth & breadth plus many national and international connections to the role. The WGRC is a world-renowned gene bank with a critical collection of wild wheat relatives and key cytogenetic stocks. The center’s collections help support and facilitate wheat research around the world. Moreover, high-impact research is conducted right here at KSU by the WGRC.
The Feed the Future Innovation Lab for the Reduction of Post-Harvest Loss receives additional funding
The Feed the Future Innovation Lab for the Reduction of Post-Harvest Loss received a $1 million, one year extension from USAID for Year 9 (calendar year 2022). The funding supports work to move research innovations into scaling in Bangladesh and Ghana. The lab also received a $25,000 seed funding grant from Mars Inc. to extend mycotoxin risk communication work. These funds will support John Leslie, Jeff Morris (KSU Vice President for Communications and Marketing) and Jagger Harvey to extend past work in this area. Dr. Harvey serves as the lead of the Food Safety Alliance’s Workstream on Risk Communication and Training.
While in Ghana in December, the PHLIL team met with the Mayor of Accra’s agriculture team. They are seeking the program’s support to help implement the Mayor’s vision of transforming the urban food system, including the reduction of food loss and improvements in food safety.
Upasana Dhakal received the Robert Nunemacher award and the Tillman family graduate student award
PhD student Upasana Dhakal, advised by Dr. Chris Toomajian, received the Robert Nunemacher award (2021-2022), the Tillman family graduate student award, and a GCS “travel” award for the online APS Plant Health 2021 conference, where she presented a (virtual) poster.
Daniel Tran Awarded Cancer Research Award
Daniel Tran, an undergraduate researcher mentored by Richard Todd, earned a training award from KSU’s Johnson Cancer Center! More here: https://www.k-state.edu/media/newsreleases/2021-12/cancer-research-award-winners121021.html
Personnel Changes
Ved Prakash joined the Nouri lab as a Post Doctoral Fellow. He is originally from Varanasi, India. He completed his master’s in Applied Microbiology from Banaras Hindu University, India, and his Ph.D. in plant-pathogen interactions in the lab of Prof. S Chakraborty at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India. After his Ph.D., he worked with Dr. Ramesh V Sonti as a Senior Research Fellow in the National Institute of Plant Genome Research (NIPGR) for a year, focusing on generating CRISPR-CAS9 edited rice varieties. He recently completed his first post-doc experience in the lab of Dr. Clare L Casteel at Cornell University. In his current role with Dr. Nouri, he will focus on the biology and molecular biology of insect-specific viruses and their interactions with the insect host/vector, as well as the mechanism of viral tolerance of wheat wild relatives and wheat viruses. He enjoys wildlife, particularly bird-watching and identifying butterflies. He also loves playing cricket.
Joe Plankinton joined Throckmorton Computing Services as a new IT Support Specialist II. He has a BS in Technology Management from Kansas State University. An Army Veteran, his previous experience includes being a Computer System Analysis/ Systems Administrator, where he was a liaison between the Fort Riley NEC (a civilian world internet service provider) and a contractor using the military Non-Secure Internet Protocol Router. He provided desktop support, employee accounts for access and support for any other network-related issues. He has also been a System Administrator for the Aircraft Control Notebook system for a contractor, in charge of infrastructure, equipment inventory, active directory, and other network-related items. He’s also done his own entrepreneurial work. In his current role, he provides desktop support for Agronomy, Horticulture and Natural Resources, and Plant Pathology. Outside of work, he enjoys Jeep’n, fishing, traveling, exploring nature, and the outdoors.
Barbara Kachigunda. We are so excited to have Dr. Barbara Kachigunda as a visiting Fullbright scholar with Jim Stack. Barbara will be here through July of 2022. Barbara currently lives in Perth Australia. She received her Ph.D. from Murdoch University. Her Ph.D. research focused on analyzing border interceptions of non-indigenous species to Barrow Island using novel statistical methods. After completing her Ph.D., she was appointed Academic Chair of Research Training and Education with the Graduate Research School at Murdoch University. She currently does statistical training and consulting for the graduate school. The school has recently launched an accelerated Research Training Master’s program, and she has been helping develop training material for that as well as continuing her research. She enjoys baking, reading, watching documentaries, walking, and traveling. She’s a motivational speaker advocating for women to take up STEMM projects and volunteers with the elderly, advocating for using music as a therapy for dementia.
Dr. Rodrigo Onofre transitioned to an Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist for row crops (soybean, sorghum, corn, etc). Dr. Onofre is originally from Conceição da Aparecida, Brazil. He holds a PhD in Plant Pathology from the University of Florida and a BS in Agronomic Engineering from the Federal University of Vicosa-Brazil. Dr. Onofre brings a very strong background in applied disease management and extension to our department.
During Fall 2021, the business office joined forces with the business office of Horticulture and Natural Resources. While the departments remain separate departments academically, combining the business functions of the departments will provide depth/backup in office staffing, increase the efficiency of our business practices, and strengthen the services provided. Julie Wilburn joined the financial team as an Accountant. Born and raised in Atchinson, KS, Julie lived in Manhattan for about three years and then moved to Wamego where she currently resides. She comes with us with 25 years of experience in Administration Finance and has held 4 different positions. She has previously audited travel vouchers and helped department employees with travel questions and reimbursements. She’s worked in the Cashier’s office, helping students with their Emergency Student Loans and Perkins Loans. Then audited Business Procurement Cards (BPCs) for all the departments across campus. Her most recent role was working in the Purchasing Department helping departments write specifications, posting bids on the items or services that were over $10,000 for competitive bidding, and helping departments find available KSU contracts that are approved for use. Outside the office, she enjoys cooking, traveling, and spending time with her children and grandchildren. Her favorite holiday is Christmas because of all the decorations, trees, and lights; she loves seeing her grandchildren and other children get excited about what Santa Claus will deliver under their Christmas tree!
New Graduate Students
Ravi Bika from Jyamire, Nepal, joined us as a new Graduate Research Assistant (Ph.D.) in Plant Pathology under Sanzhen Liu. He recently completed his MS in Plant Pathology from Tennessee State University, where his research focused on the integrated management of foliar diseases of ornamental plants using biological control agents, host defense inducers, and chemicals. His current research interest lies in understanding the biology of pathogens, genetic and molecular mechanisms that control pathogenicity and disease development, factors triggering pathogens from being inactive to aggressive, and identifying the genes involved in disease resistance to various pathogens. Outside of the lab, he likes to go on road trips, hiking, watching movies and sports, playing guitar, and team sports like soccer, volleyball, and cricket. His favorite holiday is Tihar, where they celebrate by decorating their houses with colorful lights. He loves the foods, culture, singing and dancing, and happiness in family and society.
Fall 2021 Graduations
Buket Sahin
Degree: MS, Genetics
Major Professor: Bernd Friebe
Thesis: Phenotypic evaluation of seedling and adult-plant stripe, leaf, and stem rust resistance in the A-genome diploid relatives of wheat
Joseph Hahn
Degree: MS Plant Pathology
Major Professors: Bob Bowden/Marty Draper
Thesis: QTL analysis of leaf rust resistance in the Lakin/ Roelfs F2007 backcross population.
Thank you for reading our news! If you are an alum of our department please get in touch and let us know what you are doing. You can contact us by emailing Megan Kennelly. You can also follow us on Facebook and on Twitter (@KSUPlantDr)
If you are interested in supporting the department financially you may donate through the KSU Foundation. Visit the Foundation page, click on College of Ag, and follow the prompts to donate to the Plant Pathology Department Excellence Fund (Fund # D35825). The Excellence Fund is used to support Seminar speakers from outside K-State and may be used to supplement graduate student learning opportunities.