Dr. Nidhi Rawat
(Principle Investigator, Rawat Lab) Plant pathogens are ever-evolving challenges to the production and quality of crops. Genetic resistance to pathogens is the most crucial strategy to overcome this challenge. Research in my Lab focuses on 1. Investigating how the plants interact with their pathogens and 2. Developing solutions to fungal diseases of small grain crops including wheat and barley. Using Fusarium graminearum, the causal organism of Fusarium Head Blight in wheat and barley, as a model we are investigating the broad-spectrum strategies that the plants use to resist the pathogen spread. Another research area of interest to the Lab is exploring and applying genetic solutions to the diseases of wheat and barley. The long term applications of the work involve applying the findings towards solving diseases in other crops caused by different types of fungal pathogens |
Present Lab Members
Post Docs
Graduate students
Under Grads
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Name : Dr. Prem Kumar Ganesan
Past Degrees : Ph.D. (Plant Biotechnology) Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli, India Research Interests : Plant tissue culture and genetic transformation Hobbies : Enjoying nature and listening to music Name : Dr. Megha Gupta
Past Degrees : Ph.D. Regional Center for Biotechnology, Faridabad, India Research Interests : Plant-pathogen interactions, Sugar transporter family proteins, Resistance mechanisms in Wheat-Fusarium interactions Hobbies : Explore nature, trekking, dancing and cooking Name : Bhavit Chhabra
Past degrees : M.S. in Plant Sciences (University of Maryland, College Park) Research interests : Fusarium head blight (FHB) and Rust resistance in wheat Hobbies : Travelling, Mountain hiking, Nature, play Badminton and Cricket Name : Janelle Livesay
Past Degrees : Bachelor of Science: Animal Science - Pre-Veterinary Medicine, 2013 Bachelor of Science: Environmental Horticulture, 2020 Research interests : Pathology, histo-technologist in both animal and human pathology, immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescent techniques in aquatic and mammalian systems Hobbies : Reading, Crochet, Kayaking, Hiking Name : Victoria Cheng
Past Degrees : High School Research Interest : Genetic resistance against rust disease in wheat Hobbies : Collecting plants, hiking, piano + clarinet Previous Lab Members
Name : Taylor Francis Schulden
Past Degrees : B.S in Agricultural Science and Technology, University of Maryland 2017 Research interests : Leaf rust and stripe rust resistance genetics Present Position : USDA Name : Saijagruti Thrasu
Past Degrees : I’m currently a junior majoring in General Biology with a minor in human development Research interests : Working on wheat fungal diseases Present Position : |
Name : Lovepreet Singh
Past Degrees : Ph.D. 2022, University of Maryland, College Park Research interests : Identification of novel resistance genes, understanding the mechanism of resistance, and optimizing fungicide application in Wheat-Fusarium Head Blight pathosystem Present Position : Postdoctoral associate, University of Minnesota |