Welcome to the Plant Pathology + Virology (PPV) Lab

At the Plant Pathology + Virology (PPV) Laboratory, we study plant pathogens beginning in the field, where we diagnose plant diseases and collect diverse samples from crops, arthropods, wild plants or weeds, and the environment (soil and/or water).

We then investigate our findings under controlled conditions in greenhouses or growth chambers to explore microbes’ biological properties and potential ecological and beneficial roles. We then perform molecular diagnostics and high-throughput sequencing in the ‘wet’ lab, generating vast datasets that we process and interpret using bioinformatics tools, data mining, and modeling approaches in the ‘dry’ lab.  

This integrated approach, from field observations to computational analysis, allows us to explore plant pathogen diversity, predict disease emergence and spread, and develop sustainable strategies to protect plant health.