Meet Katherine Frels, Ph.D., an assistant professor, at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Dr. Frels is a newly funded PI with the U.S. Wheat and Barley Scab Initiative. Her projects focus on breeding hard winter wheat and barley for FHB resistance and are funded under the Barley and Hard Winter Wheat Coordinated Projects of the USWBSI.

USWBSI: Briefly share some background on yourself and your research program.

Katherine Frels: I am an applied plant breeder driven to improve winter annual crops to provide producers with sustainable cropping system options. I completed my Ph.D. in wheat breeding and genetics at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln then moved to the University of Minnesota to develop a breeding program for the winter annual oilseed species camelina and pennycress (yes, you are thinking of the right species!). On March 1, 2021 I returned to UNL to take over the small grains breeding program from Dr. Stephen Baenziger. The UNL small grains program develops winter wheat, barley, and triticale varieties for food, feed and forage. We must breed for climate resiliency, increased exposure to biotic and abiotic stress, and increased yield and nutritional targets. I look forward to addressing these challenges using advanced genomic and phenomic technologies.

USWBSI: What novel techniques are being implemented in your research program?

Katherine Frels: We are actively using marker assisted selection to increase the frequency of Fhb1 in our wheat germplasm as well as using genomic selection to improve minor gene resistance to FHB resistance. We also can utilize our hybrid wheat research program to study the performance of disease resistance genes in a heterozygous state. I am particularly interested to see how FHB resistance is affected by heterozygosity and by the male and female flowering traits required in a hybrid wheat system. Thanks to the Barley-CP we are initiating a project to evaluate and improve FHB resistance in our barley germplasm and plan to begin genomic selection protocols in the near future.

USWBSI: What excites you most about your research and current position?

Katherine Frels: I am excited to serve small grains producers in Nebraska and the Great Plains by developing improved cultivars and hybrids that provide food security, improved sustainability, and increased resiliency to stresses. In addition to working directly with producers, I also get the opportunity to work with an amazing team of students, postdocs, and staff scientists to educate the next generation of plant breeders and geneticists. Together, we are building a next generation breeding program for Nebraska.

To reach Dr. Katherine Frels view her faculty page for her contact information.
 

Is your research aligned with the mission of the U.S. Wheat and Barley Scab Initiative? The FY22 USWBSI Pre-Proposal Submission process is now in progress. USWBSI will be accepting pre-proposals until September 21, 2021. Check out the details for the FY22 USWBSI RFP under the Research Area Individual Projects - Category 3 today! (All other categories required an accepted Letter of Intent for pre-proposal submission.)

You can also check out the series of previous USWBSI Featured Researchers.