Faculty

Faculty and Academic Staff

The Department of Plant Pathology & Plant-Microbe Biology includes 35 full time faculty and 10 adjunct faculty. Each member directs independent research and/or outreach projects and plays significant roles in educating students and stakeholders. The majority of the faculty are located in department facilities in Ithaca and Geneva, but some work at the Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research, USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) facilities in Ithaca or Geneva, or at regional colleges and universities. You may also be interested in our:

	Name	Research Interests
	Chair William E. Fry Professor, Dean of the Faculty Location: Ithaca Email: wef1@cornell.edu Tel: (607) 255-7863 Lab Web Page	Biology of oomycetes and management of disease they cause (with emphasis on Phytophthora infestans).
	Associate Chair Wayne F. Wilcox Professor Location: Geneva Email: wfw1@cornell.edu Tel: (315) 787-2335	Fungal diseases of grapevines, with emphases on pathogen biology, ecology and epidemiology, and integrated disease management.

	George S. Abawi Professor Location: Geneva Email: gsa1@cornell.edu Tel: (315) 787-2374	Ecology and biology of fungal and nematodal soilborne pathogens and the integrated management of their resultant root diseases; special interests in diseases of vegetable and food legume crops; microbial interactions; biological control; cultural practices for disease management; and soil-IPM/soil health issues.
	Steven V. Beer Professor Location: Ithaca Email: svb1@cornell.edu Tel: (607) 255-7870 Lab Web Page	Molecular genetics and mechanisms of pathogenicity of Erwinia amylovora; biological control of fire blight and other diseases by bacteria.
	Gary C. Bergstrom Professor Location: Ithaca Email: gcb3@cornell.edu Tel: (607) 255-7849	Biology, epidemiology, and integrated management of diseases of wheat, corn, soybean, forage legumes, and biofuel feedstock crops.
	Adam Bogdanove Professor Location: Ithaca Email: ajb7@cornell.edu Tel: (607) 255-7831	Mechanisms of bacterial plant pathogenesis and plant defense with a focus on tissue specificity in bacterial blight and bacterial leaf streak of rice, caused by the pathovars ofXanthomonas oryzae; transcription activator-like (TAL) effector proteins in plant-bacterial interactions and DNA targeting technologies such as genome editing and custom gene regulation.
	Thomas J. Burr The Goichman Family Professor of Enology and Viticulture, Associate Dean and Director, NYSAES Location: Geneva Email: tjb1@cornell.edu Tel: (315) 787-2312	Diseases of fruit crops with emphasis on bacterial diseases, including biology and control of grape crown gall.
	Juliet Carroll Senior Extension Associate Location: Geneva Email: jec3@cornell.edu Tel: (315) 787-2430	Development and delivery of IPM programs for tree fruit, grape, and berry growers.
	Samuel W. Cartinhour Courtesy Professor Location: Ithaca Email: sc167@cornell.edu Tel: (607)255-8091 Lab Web Page	Analysis of regulatory mechanisms and gene expression networks in Pseudomonas syringae.
	Alan Collmer Andrew J. and Grace B. Nichols Professor Location: Ithaca Email: arc2@cornell.edu Tel: (607) 255-7843 Lab Web Page	Molecular phytobacteriology and microbial genomics.
	Kerik Cox Associate Professor Location: Geneva Email: kdc33@cornell.edu Tel: (315) 787-2401 Tree Fruit and Berry Crop Website	Orchard fungal ecology; fungicide resistance; pesticide stewardship; fruit pathology
	Margery L. Daughtrey Senior Extension Associate Location: Long Island Email: mld9@cornell.edu Tel: 631-727-3595 Lab Web Page	Improving disease management for ornamental crops, with the emphasis on developing new information to benefit the floriculture industry of New York.
	Helene R. Dillard Professor, Associate Dean and Director of Cooperative Extension Location: Geneva Email: hrd1@cornell.edu Tel: (315) 787-2469 Lab Web Page	Epidemiology and management of fungal diseases of vegetable crops; organic and sustainable cropping systems; host pathogen interactions
	Melanie Filiatrault Courtesy Assistant Professor Location: Ithaca Email: mjf66@cornell.edu Tel: (607) 255-7876	The role of small non-coding RNAs and RNA binding proteins in the biology of bacterial plant pathogens; the development of new approaches to perform global transcriptome profiling.
	Marc Fuchs Associate Professor Location: Geneva Email: mf13@cornell.edu Tel: (315) 787-2487 Plum Pox Virus Lab	Research and extension on virus diseases of fruit and vegetable crops, their biology and management. Virus-host and virus-vector interactions.
	David M. Gadoury Senior Research Associate Location: Geneva Email: dmg4@cornell.edu Tel: (315) 787-2614	Epidemiology; Pathogen Ecology; Pathogen Biology; Ontogenic (age-related) Host Resistance, Pathogen Survival of Intercrop periods; Signaling and Environmental Regulation of Sporulation; Spore Release and Dispersal; Diseases of Grapevine, Apple and Strawberry; Powdery Mildew and Downy Mildew pathogens of all crops; Interactions between Climate, Crop Phenology, and Host Resistance.
	Stewart M. Gray Courtesy Professor Location: USDA/ARS Ithaca Email: smg3@cornell.edu Tel: (607) 255-7844	The biology of plant virus - insect vector interactions, virus diseases of potato and grain crops, virus disease management and epidemiology.
	Kathie T. Hodge Associate Professor Location: Ithaca Email: kh11@cornell.edu Tel: (607) 255-5356 Lab Web Page	Systematics and ecology of pathogenic and symbiotic fungi, especially those that are pathogens of insects. Director of the Cornell Plant Pathology Herbarium
	George W. Hudler Professor Location: Ithaca Email: gwh2@cornell.edu Tel: (607) 255-7848 Lab Web Page	Epidemiology and management of diseases of woody ornamentals and Christmas trees.
	Sondra Lazarowitz Professor Location: Ithaca Email: sgl5@cornell.edu Tel: (607) 255-7830 Lab Web Page	Molecular mechanisms in virus-host interactions; molecular genetics of plant-virus movement and host resistance to virus infection; intra- and intercellular communications in plants.
	Magdalen Lindeberg Senior Research Associate Location: Ithaca Email: ml16@cornell.edu Tel:(607) 254-7297	The identification of virulence-associated features in plant pathogenic bacteria, including Pseudomonas syringae pathovars and Ca. Liberibacter species through analysis of their genome sequences.
	Gregory B. Martin Professor Location: Ithaca Email: gbm7@cornell.edu Tel: (607) 254-1208 Lab Web Page	The focus is on the molecular basis of: 1) bacterial pathogenesis and host susceptibility; 2) recognition events involved in plant immunity; and 3) host signal transduction leading to defense responses; experimental approaches include genomics, biochemistry, cell biology, molecular biology, forward and reverse genetics, and proteomics to investigate aspects of plant-bacterial interactions
	Margaret McGrath Associate Professor Location: Long Island Email: mtm3@cornell.edu Tel: (631) 727-3595 Lab Web Page	Diseases of vegetable crops, integrated pest management, fungicide resistance, epidemiology, powdery mildew, Phytophthora, air pollutants
	Michael G. Milgroom Professor Location: Ithaca Email: mgm5@cornell.edu Tel: (607) 255-7872 Lab Web Page	Population biology and evolution of plant pathogens; the integration of population biology and plant disease epidemiology.
	Eric B. Nelson Professor Location: Ithaca Email: ebn1@cornell.edu Tel: (607) 255-7841 Lab Web Page	Ecology of fungal and oomycete pathogens in natural ecosystems; plant-soil feedbacks; invasion biology and the role of pathogens in facilitating invasive success; biology and ecology of oomycetes, especially species in the genus Pythium
	Rebecca J. Nelson Professor Location: Ithaca Email: rjn7@cornell.edu Tel: (607) 254-7475 Lab Web Page	Genetics of quantitative disease resistance; international agriculture; current focus on two diseases of maize that are important both in the United States and in Africa: northern corn leaf blight and gray leaf spot
	Teresa E. Pawlowska Associate Professor Location: Ithaca Email:tep8@cornell.edu Tel: (607) 254-8726 Lab Web Page	Biology and evolution of fungi and their bacterial endosymbionts
	Keith L. Perry Associate Professor Location: Ithaca Email: klp3@cornell.edu Tel: (607) 254-8243 Lab Web Page	Insect vector transmission of plant viruses, cucumber mosaic virus and its vector transmission, the development of diagnostic technologies for plant pathogens with on emphasis on array-based approaches, potato viruses, and potato foundation seed production.; Director of the NYS Foundation Potato Seed Program and the Uihlein Laboratory and Farm.
	David A Rosenberger Professor, Superintendent of the Hudson Valley Fruit Research Laboratory Location: Hudson Valley Email: dar22@cornell.edu Tel: (845) 691-7231 Hudson Valley Laboratory	Biology and management of tree fruit diseases both in the field and after harvest
	Robert C. Seem Professor Location: Geneva Email: rcs4@cornell.edu Tel: (315) 787-2388	Quantitative epidemiology, focusing on model development and other quantitative measures for the practical management of fruit and vegetable diseases; understanding the biological processes responsible for disease development; elucidating the role of weather and plant disease
	Christine D. Smart Associate Professor Location: Geneva Email: cds14@cornell.edu Tel: (315) 787-2441 Lab Web Page	Biology and management of vegetable diseases; host-pathogen interactions
	Karen L. Snover-Clift Senior Extension Associate Location: Ithaca Email: kls13@cornell.edu Tel: (607) 255-7850	Director - Plant Disease Diagnostic Lab
	Bryan Swingle Courtesy Assistant Professor Location: Ithaca Email: bms45@cornell.edu Tel: (607) 255-7894	Molecular biology of plant-microbe interactions, with emphasis on regulatory systems that contribute to bacterial stress tolerance and survival in plants; genetic recombination in Pseudomonas syringae.
	Gillian Turgeon Professor Location: Ithaca Email: bgt1@cornell.edu Tel: (607) 254-7458 Lab Web Page	Comparative genetics and genomics of fungal pathogens of cereals.
	Xiaohong Wang Courtesy Professor Location: Ithaca Email: xw57@cornell.edu Tel: (607) 255-7845 Lab Web Page	Molecular basis of plant-nematode interactions, host resistance to the potato cyst nematodes
	Thomas A. Zitter Professor Location: Ithaca Email: taz1@cornell.edu Tel: (607) 255-7857 Lab Web Page	Diseases of vegetables, integrated pest management, ecology and epidemiology of foliar pathogens, epidemiology and control of virus diseases

Faculty Affiliated with PPPMB

	Lance Cadle-Davidson PPPMB Adjunct and Field Member USDA-ARS Address pathogenesis of economically important fungal pathogens of grapevine.		Michelle Cilia PPPMB Adjunct Faculty USDA-ARS Molecular interactions among plant pathogens, insect vectors, and plant hosts.
	Candace W. Collmer PPPMB Adjunct Faculty Faculty in Department of Biology at Wells College Microbial genome annotation---specifically, the development and use of Gene Ontology (GO) terms describing microbe-host interactions. Lab Web Page (Cornell)		Donna M. Gibson PPPMB Adjunct and Field Member USDA-ARS Discovery of microbial metabolites and the roles they may play in pathogenicity, virulence, defense, or growth and development.
	Maria Harrison PPPMB Adjunct and Field Member Faculty at Boyce Thompson Institute The arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis and phosphate acquisition in plants.		Jian Hua PPPMB Field Member Faculty in Department of Plant Biology, Cornell Molecular genetics of temperature sensing and signaling Location: Department of Plant Biology
	Richard A. Humber PPPMB Adjunct and Field Member USDA-ARS Biology, systematics/taxonomy, and biocontrol uses of fungal pathogens from arthropods and other invertebrates.		Dan F. Klessig PPPMB Field Member Faculty at Boyce Thompson Institute Plant immunity: molecular mechanisms of pathogen recognition and defense signal transduction. Location: BTI
	Patricia Mowery PPPMB Adjunct and Field Member Faculty in Biology at Hobart and William Smith Colleges Bacterial motility and sensing with emphasis on Xyllela fastidiosa		Sorina Popescue PPPMB Adjunct and Field Member Faculty at Boyce Thompson Institute Intracellular signaling associated with plant immune responses Location:BTI
	P.F. Palukaitis PPPMB Adjunct Faculty Molecular mechanisms of plant-virus interactions in pathogenic and resistance responses, plus development and utilization of antiviral systems. Location: South Korea		Jocelyn K. C. Rose PPPMB Field Member Faculty in Department of Plant Biology, Cornell Structure, function and dynamics of the plant cell wall and apoplast during development and plant-pathogen interactions, coupling biochemistry with newly developed approaches involving genomics and proteomics.
	David Schneider PPPMB Adjunct Faculty USDA-ARS Systems biology of P. syringae; comparative genomics of plant pathogens; mathematical and computational models of gene regulation networks in bacteria.		Richard C. Staples PPPMB Adjunct Faculty Faculty at Boyce Thompson Institute Physiology, metabolism, and cell biology of fungi.Experience focused on the rust fungi.
	Stephen C. Winans PPPMB Field Member Faculty in Department of Microbiology, Cornell Molecular plant-bacteria interactions; host-microbe chemical signaling.