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.

Akshara Bathini

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

Research Area:
Abiotic stress studies in cereal crops.  Exploring heat and drought tolerance in barley by leveraging GWAS and transcriptomic approaches.

Natalie Brennan

Ph.D. Plant Pathology

Advisor: Dr. Jessica Kansman

Research Area: Ecology and management of aphid vectors in potato systems.

Naldy Hans Steev Celestin

M.S. - Plant Pathology

Advisor:  Dr. Kent McVay and Dr. Jamie Sherman

Research Area: 
Relationship between fertility, water, and planting density on production and quality of advanced spring forage barley and interaction of fertility, water and stay green on barley production and malt quality.

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.

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: 

 

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.

Venkat Kadium

 

Naomi Kaku

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

Research Area:

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: 

 

Janaki Mahat

M.S. Plant Sciences

Advisor: Dr. Jamie Sherman

Research Area: Working to find genetic control of resistance to wheat stem sawfly in barley.

Muhammad Umer Masood

 M.S. Plant Sciences

Advisor: Dr. Ryan Thum

Research Area: 

Vishal Monga

Ph.D. Plant Sciences

Advisor: Dr. Frankie Crutcher

Research Area: I am studying the ecological and environmental factors influencing the spread of Ascochyta rabiei and how they relate to fungicide application timing to enhance disease control in chickpeas.

Chiseche Mwanza

 Ph.D. Plant Genetics

Advisor: Dr. Jamie Sherman

Research Area: I am currently working on the impact of stay green trait on quality in barley across different environments.

Abigail Noel

M.S. Entomology

Advisor: Dr. Jessica Kansman

Research Area: Impacts of drought stress in wheat on parasitoid wasp-aphid interactions. 

Dhirendra Niroula

Ph.D. Plant Sciences - Plant Pathology
Advisor: Dr. Janak Joshi

Research Area: Exploring the potential of plant protease inhibitors for plant disease management.

Sergei O'Sullivan

M.S. Plant Sciences

Advisor: Mike Giroux

Research Area: Genetic regulation of plant architecture in wheat.

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.

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.  

Olivia Schwartz

M.S. Plant Sciences

Advisor: Dr. Ryan Thum

Research Area:  Herbicide response, evolutionary and molecular ecology of aquatic invasive species.

Kaelin Smith

M.S. Entomology 

Advisor: Dr. Tiziana Oppedisano and Dr. Jessica Kansman

Research Area: Application of remote sensing as a decision-making tool for wheat stem sawfly and wireworms in wheat and interactions between wheat root-emitted VOC's and wireworms.

Lakyn Sonday

M.S. Plant Sciences

Advisor: Jamie Sherman

Research Area: Exploring growth traits to better understand their roles in genetic resistance to Fusarium crown rot. My study focuses on enhancing the resilience of spring and winter barley.

Brandon Tillett

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

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

 

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).