Current Graduate Students

Emmanuel Annan

Ph.D. Plant Sciences
Advisor: Dr. Li Huang

Research Area:  I will be working on the pea project with the goal of Identifying the level of resistance in Ascochyta blight together with other wheat projects.

Tehmina Arshad

Ph.D. Plant Pathology

Advisor: Dr. Mike Giroux

Research Area: Genes affecting wheat tillering

Akshara Bathini

Ph.D.  Plant Sciences - Plant Genetics
Advisor: Dr. Venugopal Mendu

Research Area:
Wheat stem sawfly resistance in Wheat and Heat tolerance in Barley

Luis Esquivel Cervantes

M.S. - Plant Pathology
Advisor: Dr. Mike Giroux

Research Area:  I will be working on how dithiosphosphates and their release of hydrogen sulfides impact plant growth and development normally under plant stress.

Erika Consoli

Ph.D. Plant Sciences - Plant Pathology

Advisor: Dr. Alan Dyer

Research Area: Wheat resistance to root lesion nematodes.  Wheat - nematode - microbiome interactions.

Ricardo Javier Leiton Cubillo 

M.S. Plant Sciences - Plant Genetics 

Advisor: Dr. Sue Mondal

Research Area: I will be working with drones to detect the degree of resistance of wheat lines to Fusarium head blight.

Sam Decker

Ph.D. Plant Sciences - Plant Genetics
Advisor: Dr. Chaofu Lu

Research Area: 

 

Aoran Diao

 M.S. Plant Sciences

Advisor: Dr. Kevin McPhee

Research Area: Identifying whether bacteria inoculation and abiotic methods can affect pea protein content & pea yeild.

Demian Dlakic

Ph.D. Plant Sciences - Plant Genetics
Advisor: Dr. Andreas Fischer

Research Area: 

 

Marie Dorval

Ph.D. Plant Sciences - Plant Pathology
Advisor: Dr. Frankie Crutcher

Research Area: Studying the effect of intercropping on disease severity and dispersal of Ascochyta rabiei.

 

Shreya Gautam

Ph.D. Plant Sciences
Advisor: Dr. Kevin McPhee

Research Area: Phenotyping Spring Wheat

Caleb Hale

M.S. Plant Sciences
Advisor: Dr. Mike Giroux

Research Area: Ways to increase productivity, seed size, and protein content of durum, spring, and winter wheat

Del Hannay

Ph.D. Plant Sciences

Advisor: Ryan Thum

Research Area: evolutionary history and processes of aquatic plants 

Chloe Hinson

M.S. Plant Sciences

Advisor: Dr. Jennifer Lachowiec

Research Area: Seeking to understand how brassinosteroid hormone treatments affect wheat quality and gene expression during heat stress.

Julia Jellema

M.S. Plant Sciences

Advisor: Dr. Venu Mendu

Research Area: Identifying and characterizing heat stress tolerant wheat lines. 

 

Joseph Jensen

Ph.D. Plant Sciences - Plant Genetics
Advisor: Dr. Jamie Sherman

Research Area: 
Genetic dissection of malt quality in Barley

Venkat Kadium

 

Naomi Kaku

Ph.D. Plant Sciences - Plant Pathology
Advisor:  Dr. Michelle Flenniken

Research Area:

Shreejana KC

M.S. Plant Sciences
Advisor: Dr. Kevin McPhee

Research Area: Analyzing protein seed accumulation and gene expression in pea. 

Joseph Kibiwott

Ph.D. Plant Sciences - Plant Pathology
Advisor: Dr. Kevin McPhee and Dr. Jed Eberly

Research  Area: 
Evaluating the effects of seeding rates and inoculant performance on nodulation, weed suppression, and relative yields of different lentil varieties grown in the Northern Great Plains. 

Erik Killian

Ph.D. Plant Gentics
Advisors: Dr. Jennifer Lachowiec and Dr. Jed Eberly

Research Area: Defining the relationship between barley and its associated soil microbe community.

Aristea King

Ph.D. Plant Sciences
Advisor: Dr. Jennifer Lachowiec

Research Area: 

 

John Paul Kole

Ph.D. Entomology
Advisor: Dr. Michael Ivie

Research Area: 

Zachary Kuzniar

Ph.D. Plant Sciences - Plant Genetics
Advisor: Dr. Ryan Thum

Research Area: 
Evolutionary ecology of aquatic plants

Jared Lile

Ph.D. Plant Sciences
Advisors: Dr. Jennifer Lachowiec and Dr. Jason Cook

Research Area: 

 

Muhammad Umer Masood

 M.S. 

Advisor: Dr. Ryan Thum

Research Area: 

Chiseche Mwanza

 M.S. Plant Sciences

Advisor: Dr. Qing Yan

Research Area: Identification and characterization of beneficial bacteria to control pea (Pisum sativum) Ascochyta blight disease

Krishna Nandakumar

M.S. Plant Sciences

Advisor: Dr. Jennifer Lachowiec

Research Area: Improving camelina using molecular approaches

Dhirendra Niroula

Ph.D. Plant Sciences - Plant Pathology
Advisor: Dr. Qing Yan

Research Area: Biocontrol of fireblight pathogen E. amylovora

Dipiza Oli

 M.S. Plant Pathology

Advisor: Dr. Alan Dyer

Research Area: Biocontrol of invasive weed using Fusarium

Trevor Palone

Ph.D. Plant Sciences
Advisor: Dr. Jamie Sherman

Research Area:

 

Monika Parajuli

M.S. Plant Pathology 

Advisor: Dr. Li Huang

Research Area: Cloning of Ascochyta blight-resistant genes in peas and developing molecular markers for selecting the gene.

Amrit Poudel

M.S. Plant Sciences
Advisor: Dr. Kevin McPhee

Research Area: Environmental Effects on Winter Pea Survival

Jordan Rainey

M.S. Entomology
Advisor: Dr. Michael Ivie

Research Area: Describing and classifying new species of Staphylinid rove beetles from the West Indies.

Ayax Del Valle Sanchez

M.S. Entomology

Advisor: Dr. Kevin Wanner

Research area: I am currently involved in alfalfa weevil control research, enhancing existing integrated pest management (IPM) tools. Our objective is to deepen our understanding of the biology and behavior of alfalfa weevils, particularly their egg-laying patterns in relation to temperature and other environmental conditions. By studying these factors, we aim to predict population peaks during the crop season. This knowledge will enable us to refine IPM strategies and develop more effective measures to control alfalfa weevil populations.  

Jenish Simon

 M.S. Plant  Sciences

Advisor: Dr. Kevin McPhee

Research Area: Pyramiding resistant genes for aphanomyces resistance in peas.

Nagendra Singh

Ph.D. Plant Sciences

Advisor:  Dr. Venu Mendu

Research Area: Bioinformatician. My work mainly involves the analysis of genomic data generated from the next-generation sequencing technologies of different crops.  

Brandon Tillett

Ph.D. Plant Sciences - Plant Genetics
Advisor: Dr. Michael Giroux

Research Area: Genetics and breeding of durum, winter and spring wheat

 

Jessica Williams

Ph.D Plant Sciences
Advisor: Dr. Jamie Sherman

Research Area: 
Genetics and physiology of root systems in malt barley and spring wheat.

Ashley Wolfe

 M.S. Plant Sciences

Advisor: Ryan Thum

Research Area: Evolutionary ecology of invasive aquativ plants

Mei Ling Wong

Ph.D Plant Sciences - Plant Genetics
Advisor:  Dr. Jason Cook

Research Area: 
My research focuses on finding a gene that controls spikelet number per spike in wheat and understanding plant plasticity and interaction effects on grain yield among multiple yield component traits (spikelet number per spike, tiller number, and grain weight).