Welcome to Graduate Students and Post-Docs in FHB

Graduate students and post-docs networked and played pass the Action with at the 2024 National Fusarium Head Blight Forum in Austin, Texas.

Watch this webinar with Dr. Jessica Rutkosi, from the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign, on using social media for science.

Watch this webinar with Dr. Nathan Kleczewski, plant pathology and entomology technical specialist/technical agronomist at GROWMARK, Inc., to learn more about diagnosing FHB in the field.

GPFHB hosted a game night at the 2023 National Fusarium Head Blight Forum. Thirty graduate students and postdoctoral researchers played games, socialized, and enjoyed snacks and sodas. The most liked grame was Pass the Action, where players had to act out a word and pass it through the line of their teammates.

Watch this webinar with Monica Lewandowski, associate professor at The Ohio State University, explain tips for creating your poster for your next upcoming scientific meeting. In this video, Lewandowski reviews how to deisgn your poster around core message to explain to reader unfamiliar with your topic. Download the PowerPoint slides to take notes wile watching.

Three graduate students competed for the champion title at the first Trivia Night. Topics included FHB, Breeding and Plant Pathology, and Science in Pop culture. Bhavit Chharba was the winner with 26 out of 36 correct.

Watch this webinar with Tim Widmer, Ph.D., USDA-ARS National Program Leader for Plant Diseases, to learn about careers in the USDA-ARS. In this webinar, Widmer outlines the structure of the USDA and the Agricultural Research Service and the role of National Program Leaders. In addition, he provides the story of his journey to becoming a National Program Leader and the places around the world that the journey took him.

Graduate students and post-doctoral researchers gathered at the 2022 National Fusarium Head Blight Forum for the first time in two years. Individuals were able to meet their peers face-to-face for the first time.

Watch this webinar with Leigh Neys, Ph.D. Career Transition Coach, to learn tips and tricks of utilizing LinkedIn to advance your career. Neys works with professionals around the world interested in transitioning to a new career. With a background in educational leadership, she offers individual and group coaching and helps create career materials that make an impact on the job search process. She has held leadership roles in public and private organizations and has a doctoral degree in Organizational Leadership, Policy, and Development from the University of Minnesota.

This event provided an opportunity for graduate students and post-doctoral researchers to interact and engage with industry personnel. Three industry personnel attended. Dr. Pravin Gautam is a cereal pathologist from BASF with the hybrid wheat program. Andrea Lugo-Torres is a field manager for Pivot Bio and is responsible for coordinating the advancement of new technologies through the product development pipeline. Dr. Kestrel McCorkle is the head of controlled environment research at GreenLight BioSciences, Inc. In her role, she focuses on developing crop protection products to control fungal plant pathogens and insect pests.

This event provided an opportunity for graduate students and post-doctoral researchers to interact and engage with university professionals in the different USWBSI Research Categories. Invited professionals included: Kaitlyn Bissonnette, University of Missouri (FHB Management), Jiajia Rao, North Dakota State University (Food Safety and Toxicology), Thomas Baldwin, North Dakota State University (Gene Discovery and Engineering Resistance), Santiago Mideros, University of Illinois (Pathogen Biology and Genetics), and Brian Ward, The Ohio State University (Variety Development and Host Resistance).