In December 2019, Raquel Rocha and Srikanth Kodati received their Ph.D.s in plant pathology from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Raquel Rocha recently received her Ph.D. in plant pathology from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL). Her dissertation was entitled “From Surface Sensing to Biotrophic Growth: Unraveling the Metabolic Strategies of the Rice Blast Fungus Magnaporthe oryzae during Infection.” Her doctoral dissertation focused on the identification of new components of central importance to the development of rice blast infection and how they impact fungal pathogenicity. One of the molecular factors identified by Rocha mediates adhesion of the fungal infection structure to the host leaf surface prior to plant penetration, which has not been shown before in any other pathosystem. Her committee included her advisor, Richard Wilson, as well as Jiri Adamec, Sydney Everhart, and Paul Staswick.
Originally from Brazil, Rocha came to Nebraska for her doctorate after completing her master’s degree in Plant Biochemistry from the Federal University of Ceará. At UNL, her studies were funded by the Brazilian Scientific Mobility “Science without Borders” Program. In parallel, she received several scholarships, awards, and honors at UNL, including Best Oral Presentation at the 2018 UNL Plant Science Retreat, the Widaman Distinguished Graduate Assistant Award, the Goss Memorial Scholarship, and the Milton E. Mohr Fellowship.
Srikanth Kodati received his Ph.D. in plant pathology in December 2019, from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL), with his dissertation entitled, “Diversity and Pathogenicity of Rhizoctonia spp. from Different Host Plants in Nebraska”. This research sought to elucidate the diversity, aggressiveness, and cross-pathogenicity of Rhizoctonia spp. isolates from plant and soil samples that came from row crops and native grasses in the Sandhills of Nebraska. Complementary research focused on identifying compounds from extracts of R. zeae associated with phytotoxicity on soybean. Kodati’s advisory committee included advisor, Sydney Everhart, co-advisor, Anthony Adesemoye, Gary Yuen, and Liangcheng Du.
Srikanth received his B.S. in agriculture from Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University, Hyderabad, India, and M.S. in plant pathology from Tennessee State University. During his Ph.D. program at UNL, Kodati received several scholarships, and awards, including the APS H. Thurston Student Travel Award, UNL Goss Memorial Scholarship, UNL Graduate Student Travel Award, UNL Victor M. Rediger Graduate Student Travel Award, and the UNL Widman Distinguished Graduate Fellowship Award. He also co-authored several extension publications and magazine articles, with three journal articles from his dissertation in preparation. He has recently started a postdoc position with James A. LaMondia at the Valley Laboratory at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station in Windsor, CT.
Congratulations, Raquel and Srikanth!