Michael Boehm

Michael Boehm

Professor, IANR Vice President and Vice Chancellor
  • Ph.D., Ohio State University
  • M.S., Ohio State University
  • B.S., Heidelberg College

Michael Boehm joined the University of Nebraska in the dual role of Harlan Vice Chancellor for the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and vice president for Agriculture and Natural Resources at the University of Nebraska system on January 1, 2017.

Boehm leads efforts across the University of Nebraska system for all agricultural, natural resources and related affairs. As vice president, Boehm oversees the executive directors of the Rural Futures Institute and the Daugherty Global Water for Food Institute and the dean of the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture at Curtis. The vice chancellor is the chief administrative officer for IANR, which includes the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, the Agricultural Research Division, Nebraska Extension, and the IANR research and extension components of the College of Education and Human Sciences. The vice chancellor is responsible for an enterprise with more than 1,600 full-time employees including a tenure-track faculty of 330, nearly 40,000 acres of land and a budget with annual expenditures of over $215 million.

Prior to serving in this role, Boehm was professor of plant pathology and vice provost for academic and strategic planning at The Ohio State University. He was responsible for strategic planning for Ohio State’s 15 colleges and six campuses; K-12 and community college partnerships; the University Libraries System, College of Public Affairs and Office of Institutional Research and Planning; dean reappointment and academic unit reviews; integrated capital planning; and classroom readiness. He oversaw Ohio State's Discovery Themes initiative, a 10-year program to produce solutions to the challenges of the 21st century, and served as co-lead for the Humanities and the Arts Discovery Theme.

In research, Boehm is a recognized authority on the integrated management of turfgrass diseases with an emphasis on Sclerotinia homoeocarpa, the causal agent of dollar spot, and integrated management of Fusarium head blight of wheat and barley.  Publications include 32 peer-reviewed articles, six edited book chapters, six US patents (two of which have been licensed and moving towards commercialization), and nearly 100 abstracts, reviews, and proceedings papers.  Secured ~$1.5 million in extramural funding (industry and federal grants); advised 15 M.S. and Ph.D. students and postdoctoral researchers.  In 2013, Boehm was president of the American Phytopathological Society and in 2008 was recipient of the APS Excellence in Teaching Award.

Publications in last 10 years:

  • McSpadden Gardener, B.B., Paul, P.A., Boehm, M.J., Rong, X., and Schisler, D.A. 2014.  Methods for using Cryptococcus flavescensstrains for biological control of Fusarium head blight.  US Patent – Application filed 3/14/2014 – patent pending.
  • Schisler, D.A., Core, A.B., Boehm, M.J., Horst, L., Krause, C.R., Dunlap, C.A., Rooney, A.P. 2014. Population dynamics of the Fusarium head blight biocontrol agent Cryptococcus flavescens OH182.9 on wheat anthers and heads. Biological Control 70(1):17-27.
  • Orshinsky, A.M., Hu, J., Opiyo, S.O., Reddyvari-Channarayappa V, Mitchell TK, et al. (2012) RNA-Seq Analysis of the Sclerotinia homoeocarpa – Creeping Bentgrass Pathosystem. PLoS ONE 7(8): e41150. Doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0041150.
  • Orshinsky, A.M., Boehm, M.J., and Boland, G.J. 2012. Plant wounding and Ophiostoma mitovirus 3a (OMV3a) influence infection of creeping bentgrass by Sclerotinia homoeocarpaCanadian Journal of Plant Pathology Doi:10.1080/07060661.2012.678886.
  • Schisler, D.A. and Boehm, M.J.  Prothioconazole tolerant Cryptococcus flavescens strains for biological control of Fusarium head blight.  US Patent No. 8,241,889 issued 08/14/2012. 
  • Schisler, D.A., Slininger, P.J., Boehm, M.J., and Paul, P.A. 2011. Co-culture of yeast antagonists of Fusarium Head Blight and their effect of disease development in wheat. Plant Pathology Journal 10(4): 128-137. Doi: 10.3923/ppj.2011.128.137.
  • Venu, R.C., Sheshu Madhav, M., Sreerekha, M.V., Nobuta, K., Zhang, Y., Carswell, P., Boehm, M.J., Meyers, B.C., Korth, K.L., and Wang, G-L.  2010. Deep and comparative transcriptome analysis of rice plants infested by beet armyworm (Spodoptera exigua) and water weevil (Lissorhoptrus oryzophilus) insects. Rice 3:22-30.
  • Venu, R.C., Zhang, Y., Weaver, B., Carswell, P. Mitchell, T.K., Meyers, B.C., Boehm, M.J., Wang, G-L. 2010. Large scale identification of genes involved in host-fungal interactions using Illumina’s Sequencing-By-Synthesis technology. Methods Mol. Biol. 722:167-78. Doi: 10.1007/978-1-61779-040-9_12.
  • Schisler, D.A., Khan, N.I., Boehm, M.J., and Slininger, P.J. 2009.  Choline-utilizing microbial strains for biologically controlling Fusarium head blight.  US Patent No. 7,601,346 issued 10/13/2009. 
  • Venu, R. C., Beaulieu, R.A., Graham, T.L., Medina, A.M. and Boehm, M.J.  2009. Dollar spot fungus Sclerotinia homoeocarpa produces oxalic acid. Inter. Turfgrass Soc. Res. J. 11:263-270.
  • Ellis, S.D. and M.J. Boehm.  2009. Plants Get Sick Too! Plant Diseases Idea Starter. The Plant Health Instructor. Doi: 10.1094/PHI-K- 2009-0511-01.
  • Jo, Y.K., Chang, S.W., Boehm, M.J., and Jung, G.  2008. Rapid development of fungicide resistance by Sclerotinia homoeocarpa on turfgrass.  Phytopathology 98:1297-1304.
  • Baysal-Gurel, F., Lewis Ivey, M.L., Dorrance, A.E., Luster, D., Frederick, R., Czarnecki, J., Boehm, M.J., and Miller, S.A.  2008. An immunofluorescence assay to detect urediniospores of Phakopsora pachyrhizi. Plant Disease 92:1387-1393.
  • Koenig, J.L., Shetlar, D. J., Rimelspach, and Boehm, M. J.  2008. First incident of annual bluegrass weevil, Listronotus maculicollis, damage in Ohio. Online. Applied Turfgrass Science Doi: 10.1094/ATS-2008-0619-01-BR.
  • Jo, Y., Wang, G.L., and Boehm, M.J. 2007. Identification of rice defense-related genes in St. Augustinegrass in response to infection by Pyricularia griseaPhytopathology 97:170-178.
  • Zhang, S., Schisler, D.A., Boehm, M.J., Slininger, P.J. 2007. Utilization of chemical inducers of resistance and Cryptococcus flavescens OH 182.9 to reduce Fusarium head blight under greenhouse conditions. Biological Control 42:308-315.
  • Boehm, M.J., Shetlar, D.J., and Schmoll, J.T.  2007.  Integrated Management of Weeds, Insects, and Diseases. pp. 95-136 in Hartmann's Plant Science: Growth, Development, and Utilization of Cultivated Plants, 4th Edition. Margaret J. McMahon, Anton M. Kofranek and Vincent E. Rubatzky, Eds., Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle, NJ.
  • Schisler, D.A., Khan, N.I., Boehm, M.J., Lipps, P.E., Slininger, P.J., Zhang, S. 2006. Selection and evaluation of the potential of choline-metabolizing microbial strains to reduce Fusarium head blight. Biological Control 39:497-506.
  • Jo, Y., Niver, A.L., Rimelspach, J.W., and Boehm, M.J.  2006. Fungicide sensitivity of Sclerotinia homoeocarpa from golf courses in Ohio. Plant Disease 90:807-813.
  • Thomas, S.L. Bonello, P., Lipps, P. and Boehm, M.J. 2006. Avenacin production in creeping bentgrass (Agrostis stolonifera) and its influence on the host range of Gaeumannomyces graminisPlant Disease 90:33-38.
  • Zhang, S., Schisler, D.A., Jackson, M.A., Boehm, M.J., Slininger, P.J. and Liu, Z.L.  2006. Cold shock during liquid production increases storage shelf-life of Cryptococcus nodaensis OH 182.9 after air-drying.  Biological Control and Technology 16(3):281-293.
  • Zhang, S., Schisler, D.A., Boehm, M.J., and Slininger, P.J.  2005. Carbon-to-nitrogen ratio and carbon loading of production media influence freeze-drying survival and biocontrol efficacy of Cryptococcus nodaensis OH 182.9. Phytopathology 95:626-631.
  • Schisler, D.A., Khan, N.I., Boehm, M.J. 2005. Bacillus species NRRL b-30212 for reducing Fusarium head blight in cereals. US Patent No. 7,001,755 issued 2/21/2006. 
  • Thomas, S.L., Rhodes, L.H., and Boehm, M.J. 2004. Following the disease progression of an ectotrophic root-infecting fungus. The Plant Health Instructor. Doi: 10.1094/PHI-I-2004-1215-01.
  • Khan, N.I., Schisler, D.A., Boehm, M.J., Lipps, P.E., and Slininger, P.J. 2004. Field testing of antagonists of Fusarium head blight incited by Gibberella zeae. Biological Control and Technology 29: 245-255.
  • Engle, J.S., Lipps, P.E., Graham, T.L. and Boehm, M.J. 2004. Effects of choline, betaine and wheat floral extracts on growth of Fusarium graminearumPlant Dis. 88:175-180.