Principal Investigator
David M. Butler, Ph.D.
Professor, Dept. of Plant Sciences
[email protected]
CV Google Scholar ResearchGate
Research Focus: Applied soil-plant & soil-plant-fungal interactions, integrated soil disinfestation (ASD) systems, non-chemical soil disinfestation mechanisms, alley cropping systems
Staff & Students
J. Hollis Rice
Research Associate/Lab Manager
[email protected]
ResearchGate
Research Focus: I provide research support for all lab projects.
Serenity Jones
Ph.D. student
Research Focus: My research focuses on the use of local synthetic microbial communities to understand the physiological, molecular, and nutrient status of tomato varieties. Here, I bring an emphasis on molecular approaches to capture the genetic changes established by plant-fungi and plant-bacteria interactions.
Gracie (Pekarcik) Carter
Ph.D. student
Research Focus: My research aims to improve food security among Northern Thailand smallholders through the identification, cultivation, and promotion of neglected and underutilized plant species (NUS), with a focus on leafy vegetable crops. My research is grounded in a participatory approach that intends to co-create knowledge and food security solutions with target communities.
Greeshma Geetha
Ph.D. student
Research Focus: My research focuses on changes in vegetable crop microclimate, crop physiology, nutrient cycling, and biotic associations in temperate tree legume alley cropping systems.
James Littrell
Ph.D. student
Research Focus: My research focuses on the role & interaction of volatile fatty acids and reduced forms of Fe and Mn in mortality of F. oxysporum inoculum in ASD treated systems under variable soil environmental conditions.
Utsala Shrestha, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Research Associate, Dept. of Plant Sciences
Google Scholar ResearchGate
Research Focus: Integrated ASD systems, ASD mechanisms, biocontrol/biostimulant fungi, strawberry defense response, strawberry black root rot
Caitlin Dalton
M.S. student
Research Focus: My research focuses on local isolates of Trichoderma spp. and the mechanisms through which they affect crop performance when present following soil disinfestation treatments.