Dr. Tamra Jackson-Ziems Promoted to Professor
Dr. Tamra A. Jackson-Ziems is promoted to Professor effective July 1, 2017. Dr. Jackson-Ziems earned her B.S. at the University of Central Arkansas in Biology in 1996; she continued with her M.S. at the University of Arkansas, in the Department of Plant Pathology, which she completed in 1999; and received her Ph.D. from the University of Illinois, Department of Crop Sciences in 2005. She joined the UNL Department of Plant Pathology as an Assistant Professor in April 2005.
Postdoctoral Associate Position in Plant Biotic Interactions
Applications are invited for a Postdoctoral Research Associate position in Dr. Lirong Zeng’s lab in the Center for Plant Science Innovation (PSI) and the Department of Plant Pathology at University of Nebraska-Lincoln (http://plantpathology.unl.edu/lirong-zeng). The Zeng lab utilizes a combination of molecular, biochemical, genetic, and genomic approaches to understand the mechanistic basis underlying plant immunity against microbial pathogens.
Graduate Research Assistantship Available
The Plant-Virus Interactions Lab at The Nebraska Center for Virology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, is seeking highly motivated, goal oriented candidates for a Ph.D. graduate research assistantship. Our research program is focused on molecular mechanisms of plant-virus interactions. The successful applicant will be part of a team working on the molecular mechanisms of antiviral defense, virus replication, and their interactions.
Rich Wilson earns $570,000 grant to study fungal growth in rice cells
Lincoln, Neb. — Richard Wilson, associate professor in the Department of Plant Pathology at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln has earned a $570,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to study the fungus Magnaporthe oryzae, which causes rice blast disease. Rice blast is a global food security threat that causes a 10 to 30 percent reduction in annual rice yields.
Lirong Zeng promoted to Associate Professor with Tenure
Lirong Zeng is promoted to Associate Professor with tenure effective July 1, 2016. He received a BS in Agronomy from the Hunan Agricultural University and a MS in Biochemistry from the Zhongshan (Sun Yat-Sen) University, China. In 2005 he earned his PhD in Molecular Plant Pathology from the Ohio State University. He then did his postdoctoral research at the Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research at Cornell University with Gregory B.
Becky Higgins Named Recipient of Outstanding Employee Award
Becky Higgins, research technologist in the Department of Plant Pathology, has been named a recipient of IANR’s 2015 Third Quarter Outstanding Employee Award.
Higgins balances her time between two laboratories in the Department of Plant Pathology. She focuses on fungal pathogens in the laboratory of James Steadman, and works with plant-parasitic nematodes in the laboratory of Thomas Powers. She manages this transition daily with no drop-off in productivity.
Stephen Wegulo Promoted to Professor
Stephen Wegulo was promoted to Professor in July 2014. Wegulo received a BS in Biology from Davidson College in 1991 and MS and PhD degrees in plant pathology from Iowa State University in 1994 and 1997, respectively. He joined the Department of Plant Pathology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 2005. He has extension and research responsibilities on diseases of small grains, forages, and ornamental crops. His current research focuses on the epidemiology and management of Fusarium head blight of wheat and he is a member of a team studying the biology, ep
David Dunigan Promoted to Research Professor
David Dunigan was promoted to Research Professor in July 2014. He received a BS in life sciences/chemistry from the University of Southern Indiana in 1977 and a PhD in biochemistry from the University of Connecticut in 1985. He then did postdoctoral research at Cornell University with Milton Zaitlin. In 1990 he took an Assistant Professor position in the Biology Department at the University of South Florida studying programmed cell death in virus-infected plants. He then spent about two years working with William Dawson at the University of Flori
Lirong Zeng Joins UNL Department of Plant Pathology
Lirong Zeng joined the Department of Plant Pathology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln as an Assistant Professor in July 2014. His expertise is in molecular plant pathology. Zeng’s research has focused on the identification and characterization of genes and signal transduction pathways involved in plant immunity against microbial pathogens, particularly the roles and mechanisms by which the ubiquitination system regulates plant defense responses.
Hernan Garcia-Ruiz Joins UNL Department of Plant Pathology
Hernan Garcia-Ruiz joined the Department of Plant Pathology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in July 2014 as an Assistant Professor. He is housed in the Nebraska Center for Virology. Garcia-Ruiz earned his B.S. in Plant Protection at the Universidad Autonoma Chapingo, Mexico and an M.S. degree in Plant Pathology from Auburn University under the direction of John F. Murhpy. He received his Ph.D. degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he was mentored by Paul G.