Front row: Brett Arenz, Pablo Olivera, Haiyan Jia, Senia Vetter, Ed Quirin.
Back row: Jorge Lussio, Brian Schwingle, Ben Millett, Dr. David Spooner, Dr. Timothy Todd, Dr. Gregory Gilbert, Dr. Sunny Power, Dr. Janis Antonovics, Dr. Dave Rizzo.
Not Pictured: Jean Rowntree.
Thank
you to our speakers and sponsors for making this year's symposium a great
success!
Topic
The graduate students of the University of Minnesota Department of Plant Pathology believe research on plant pathogens in natural ecosystems is an important discipline, although it often does not receive as much attention as its counterpart in agriculture. Our symposium will provide a forum where top scientists in the field of natural ecosystem plant pathology can share their expertise with interested individuals, especially those in plant pathology and ecology. Attendees will learn about such topics as natural resistance mechanisms and pathogen ecology and apply what they have learned to their own areas of research.
Objectives
1. To provide an overview of the importance of pathogens in natural ecosystemsFormat
2. To allow students the opportunity to interact with top researchers in the fields of both plant pathology and ecology
3. To provide insight as to what lessons we can learn from natural host-pathogen community interactions and how then can be applied to problems in disease management in agricultural systems
Our symposium will consist of one day of presentations by researchers who are experts in the roles of various plant pathogens in natural ecosystems. Each speaker will describe their own research specialty and will participate in a panel discussion with the audience at the end of the symposium. We have invited speakers who represent a diverse array of phytopathological interactions in the natural world.
Location
The symposium will be held in 42 of the Continuing Education and Conference Center (formerly Earle Brown Continuing Education Center) on the St. Paul campus. Directions to the CECE can be found at this link.
Products
When these speakers are brought together for our symposium, it will increase the knowledge and understanding of plant pathogens and how they fit into ecological processes in the environment. We also will learn how this knowledge can be applied to agricultural systems and how plant pathogens contribute to biodiversity. Our program will integrate plant pathology and ecology and present results to a University wide audience.
