Project Directors and Co-Principal Investigators
Michelle M. Moyer
Title / Institution: Associate Professor / Extension Viticulturist, Washington State University
Role on Project: Project Director
Research/Extension/Teaching Interests: Dr. Moyer’s Extension (70%) and Research (30%) interests cover all aspects of wine and juice grape production in Washington state and beyond. She has a particular focus on integrated pest and disease management, combining cultural and chemical practices to optimize control efforts.
Preferred program URL: Michelle M. Moyer | WSU Viticulture and Enology
Social Media Accounts:
- Facebook: @WSU.Vit.Enol.Ext
- Twitter: @WSU_Vit_Ext
Walter (Walt) Mahaffee
Title / Institution: Research Plant Pathologist, USDA-ARS Horticulture Crops Research Unit
Role on Project: Co-PD; Leading the Detection and Monitoring team and serves on the Predicting Spread and Extension and Outreach teams.
Research/Extension/Teaching Interests: Research focuses on understanding pathogen biology and disease epidemiology to develop integrated pest management programs and decision support systems. Current research projects are on inoculum monitoring, fungicide resistance, pathogen dispersion, and biophysical crop systems modeling.
Preferred program URLs:
Ana Espinola-Arredondo
Title / Institution: Associate Professor, School of Economic Sciences, Washington State University
Role on Project: Objective 2: Group Decisions
Research/Extension/Teaching Interests: Strategic negotiations when conflicting interests exist.
Teaching interests: Environmental Economics, Game Theory and Industrial Organization.
Preferred program URLs:
Social Media Accounts:
- Twitter: @Ana_Espinola
Timothy D. Miles
Title / Institution: Assistant Professor / Extension Specialist, Michigan State University
Role on Project: Diagnostic development of fungicide resistance markers and outreach of materials developed by the FRAME group.
Research/Extension/Teaching Interests: Interested in a variety of plant pathology research topics (e.g. mycology, genomics, population genetics, pathogen detection, molecular diagnostics and host resistance) that can be applied to solving disease management issues in grapes.
Preferred program URL: Timothy D. Miles | MSU Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences
Social Media Accounts:
- Facebook: @SmallFruitNHopPathology
- Twitter: @Tmiles_MSU
Rachel Naegele
Title / Institution: Research Horticulturist, USDA-ARS Crop Diseases, Pests and Genetics Research
Role on Project: I study how powdery mildew populations change during the growing season in response to weather and pest management practices. I also work with the diagnostics team to develop new tools for testing fungicide resistance in field isolates.
Research/Extension/Teaching Interests: I’m interested in fruit development, diseases, and how the two interact in field environments with the goal of developing management tools for growers.
Rob Stoll
Title / Institution: Associate Professor, University of Utah
Role on Project: Co-PI and Objective 4 Predicting Resistance Spread Management Team
Research/Extension/Teaching Interests: Transport of momentum, mass, and energy in the environment and the impact of transport processes on ecosystem functioning in urban, agricultural and natural environments. I examine these processes and their impacts through numerical and physical (lab and field) experiments.
Preferred program URL: Rob Stoll | Mechanican Engineering, University of Utah
Cooperators
Phillip M. Brannen
Title / Institution: Professor, Extension Fruit Disease Specialist, University of Georgia
Role on Project: Key Personnel; Extension and Outreach
Research/Extension/Teaching Interests: Dr. Brannen’s efforts are directed towards developing IPM practices to solve disease issues and technology transfer of disease-management methods to commercial grape producers. He also teaches the graduate level Field Pathology Course, the History of Plant Diseases and their Impact on Human Societies Course, team-teaches the IPM Course, coordinates the Viticulture and Enology in the Mediterranean Region Course (Cortona, Italy), and guest lectures in numerous other courses throughout the year.
Preferred program URL: Phillip M. Brannen | University of Georgia
Monica L. Cooper
Title / Institution: Farm Advisor – Viticulture, University of California, Agriculture & Natural Resources, Napa County
Role on Project: Key Personnel; Extension and Outreach
Research/Extension/Teaching Interests: Dr. Cooper’s research interests include viticulture, pest management, and vineyard team dynamics. She has an active outreach program with the goal of extending science-based technical information to the vineyard industry.
Preferred program URL: Viticulture | Napa County UCCE
Melanie Lewis Ivey
Title / Institution: Assistant Professor, Extension Fruit Pathologist, Fresh Produce Safety Specialist, The Ohio State University-Wooster Campus
Role on Project: Key Personnel; Extension and Outreach. Participation in the project will include holding workshops for Ohio growers with the goal of increasing grower awareness and understanding of fungicide resistance development in resident fungal populations, deliver in-field demonstration trials to demonstrate the impact that alternative spray programs can have on reducing the risk of fungicide resistance, monitoring for powdery mildew resistant isolates through the use of sentinel plots, and monitoring for resistance in production vineyards across the state. In addition, the third year annual project meeting will be hosted by The Ohio State University in Cleveland Ohio.
Research/Extension/Teaching Interests: Dr. Lewis Ivey’s applied research program focuses on the development and integration of sustainable strategies for managing diseases of fruit crops and hops. Her Extension activities include the development and delivery of targeted, science-based, disease management guidelines and knowledge translation programs aimed at enhancing the health and safety of fruit crops.
Preferred program URL: Fruit Pathology Laboratory | Ohio State University Extension
Social Media Accounts:
- Facebook: @FruitPathology (Facebook) & @ohiograpeIPM (Facebook)
Ioannis Stergiopoulos
Title / Institution: Associate Professor of Plant Pathology, University of California Davis
Role on Project: Key Personnel; Research. My role in this project is to oversee the genome sequencing of Erysiphe necator, assist in monitoring fungicide resistance in this pathogen through target-site mutation detection, and unravel the molecular basis of SDHI and quinoxyfen resistance in E. necator.
Research/Extension/Teaching Interests: My research focuses on the molecular genetics and genomics of plant-microbe interactions aiming on understanding two fundamental questions, (i) how fungal plant pathogens cause disease and (ii) how plants defend themselves against fungi. I also study the molecular mechanisms and evolution of fungicide resistance in phytopathogenic fungi both in the field and in a lab setting, in order to design better management strategies that will preserve the efficacy of existing and future chemistries.
Preferred program URL: Stergiopoulos Lab
Key Personnel, Postdocs, Technicians, Scientists
Charlotte Oliver
Title / Institution: Project Manager, Washington State University
Role on Project: Manages the administrative activities of the grant (subcontracts, reporting, meeting facilitation) with research responsibilities in applied fungicide resistance management, and extension responsibilities in grower education and outreach.
Research / Extension / Interests: Commercial fungicide spray program creation and its impact on seasonal disease development with the goal of developing management tools for growers. My aim is to continue my career in academic extension and public outreach.
Social Media Accounts:
- Instagram: @charlotteoliver130
- Twitter: @Cfioriniae
Safa Alzohairy
Title / Institution: Postdoctoral Research Associate at Michigan State University
Role on Project: Research responsibilities that include fungicide resistance screening and development of molecular diagnostic tools for fungicide resistance.
Research/Extension/Teaching Interests: Interested in molecular diagnostics, pathogen detection, and genetic aspects of host/pathogen resistance.
Preferred program URL: Google Scholar
Social Media Accounts: @SafaAlzohairy
Marivi Colle
Title / Institution: Postdoctoral Research Associate, Michigan State University
Role on Project: Primarily research responsibilities related to genomics and transcriptomics of fungicide resistance in powdery mildew of grape.
Research / Extension / Interests: Molecular and computational biologist specializing in genomics of plants and plant pathogenic fungi.
Jeff DeLong
Title / Institution: Research technician USDA ARS SJVASC
Role on Project: Provides technical and administrative support in the capacity of molecular protocols as it relates to genetic analysis and population biology of plant pathogenic fungi.
Research/Extension/Teaching Interests: Mycologist and molecular plant pathologist. My training has focused on the genetic diversity and analysis of fungal pathogens and the development of improved tools for molecular genetics. I am particularly interested in the ecology, evolution, and population biology of fungi.
Maria Mireles
Title / Institution: Research Technician, Department of Horticulture, WSU Prosser IAREC
Role on Project: Oversees field research trials related to fungicide resistance management. Coordinates Washington State grower sampling efforts.
Tara Neill
Title / Institution: Biological Technician, USDA-ARS Horticulture Crops Research Unit
Role on Project: Oversees resistance phenotyping and assay validation.
Eric R. Pardyjak
Title / Institution: Professor, University of Utah
Role on Project: Dispersion tracking and population prediction.
Research / Extension / Interests: Application of fundamental turbulence concepts to studies in environmental atmospheric flows in complex terrain (i.e., urban, mountainous, agriculture). Interests include both experimental (field & laboratory based) and computational research.
Hui-Ching Yang
Title / Institution: Postdoctoral Research Associate, USDA-ARS Crop Diseases, Pests and Genetics Research
Role on Project: Evaluating the effects of powdery mildew fungicide spray programs on the non-target fungi for their fungicide resistance.
Research / Extension / Interests: Plant pathology, mycology, molecular diagnosis, metagenomics of microbial communities under different environmental conditions.
Graduate Students
Ilhoon Choi
Title / Institution: PhD Graduate Student, Economics at Washington State University
Role on Project: research assistant in understanding grower interactions in an economic game
Future Career Interests: My research interests are topics in Trade, Labor, and Industrial Organization.
Lexi Heger
Title / Institution: PhD Graduate Student, Department of Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences, Michigan State University
Role on Project: Developing molecular diagnostic markers for the detection of fungicide resistance in grape downy mildew (GDM) and characterizing GDM diversity.
Future Career Interests: During my PhD, I hope to gain experience in communicating with growers via extension, as well as teaching and mentoring budding scientists within all things plant pathology. My interests focus mostly on disease detection and management, and how we can best communicate this information with growers.
Social Media Accounts:
- Twitter: @PhytoaLEXIn_12
Sarah Lowder
Title / Institution: PhD Graduate Student, Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, Oregon State University
Role on Project: Development of rapid sampling methodology and understanding grower perception and implementation of fungicide resistance management and mitigation approaches.
Future Career Interests: Become an extension specialist focusing on how growers make decisions and improved methods for implementing IPM and Decision Support Systems as this will merge my undergraduate degrees in psychology and environmental sciences with PhD program on assessing and mitigating fungicide resistance.
Social Media Accounts:
- Twitter: @iamSLowder
Sam Thompson
Title / Institution: PhD Graduate Student, Michigan State University
Role on Project: Research responsibilities include screening grape PM isolates for fungicide resistance and sensitivity.
Future Career Interests: Interested in powdery mildew genomics, researching plant pathogenic fungi in small fruits and the molecular realm of diagnostics in plant pathology.
Social Media Accounts:
- Twitter: @samthompMSU
Nancy Sharma
Title / Institution:PhD Graduate Student, Department of Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences, Michigan State University
Role on Project: Developing molecular diagnostic markers for the detection of fungicide resistance in grape powdery mildew and other aspects of fungicide resistance.
Future Career Interests: Molecular and applied aspects of plant pathology.
Alexander Wong
Title / Institution: PhD Graduate Student, Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, Oregon State University
Role on Project: Examine factors that effect persistence of fungicide resistance alleles in Erysiphe necator.
Future Career Interests: My future career interests after graduate school are to pursue a teaching professor position at a university.
Social Media Accounts:
- Twitter: @AlexWongScience
Alex Zaccaron
Title / Institution: PhD Graduate Student, Integrative Genetics and Genomics, University of California, Davis.
Role on Project: Acquisition of a chromosome-scale genome assembly and gene annotation for Erysiphe necator. Comparative genomics and transcriptomics analyses to identify candidate genes involved in pathogenicity and resistance to fungicides targeting succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) complex in E. necator.
Future Career Interests: I am interested in pursuing a career as a researcher in genomics and bioinformatics, focusing on mechanisms of pathogenicity of plant pathogens and their co-evolution with their hosts.
Alumni Post Docs and Graduate Students
Carly Allen
Title / Institution: Biological Technician, USDA-ARS Horticulture Crops Research Unit
Role on Project: Maintains Erysiphe culture collection and conducts fungicide resistance bioassays.
Research / Extension / Interests: Obtain a teaching certificate and become a k-12 science teacher.
Chelsea Newbold
Title / Institution: Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, Oregon State University
Role on Project: Working determine the effects of the G143A mutation for strobilurin resistance on the fitness of Erysiphe necator.
Future Career Interests: To work as an extension agent or for an extension agency focused on small fruits.
Social Media Accounts:
- Twitter: @chelsea_newbold
Chelsea Pardini
Title / Institution: PhD student in economics / Washington State University (School of Economic Sciences)
Role on Project: Graduate Research Assistant on Objective 2: Group Decisions.
Future Career Interests: To work as a professor of economics at a 4-year university.
Social Media Accounts:
- Twitter: @chelsea_pardini
Guy Robinson
Title / Institution: Graduate Student Researcher (GSR) in Plant Pathology, University of California Davis
Role on Project: My role in this project is to assist in monitoring fungicide resistance in E. necator through target-site mutation detection as well as to develop and validate molecular probes for SDHI and quinoxyfen resistance.
Future Career Interests: I am interested in pursuing a career in viticultural research that is concerned with studying the emergence of fungicide resistance and designing techniques to curtail its development.
Brooke Warres
Title / Institution: Department of Plant Pathology, University of Georgia
Role on Project: Conducting efficacy trials to compare fungicides under Georgia conditions, as well as developing resistance management recommendations for wine grape producers.
Future Career Interests: Research involving fungal biology, population genetics, plant diseases, and/or plant-fungal interactions with the USDA or a university.
Social Media Accounts:
- Twitter: @brookewarres
Stakeholder Advisors
| Name | Title, Company | Commodity | Region |
| Franka Gabler | Viticulture Research Director, CA Table Grape Commission | Table grapes | Fresno, CA |
| Lauren Coelho | Solo Mio Farms | Raisin grapes | Leemore, CA |
| Melissa Hansen | Director of Research, WA State Wine Commission | Wine grapes | Washington State |
| Dr. Julie Tarara | Viticulturist, Ste. Michelle Wine Estates | Wine grapes | Horse Heaven Hills, WA |
| Jason Tosh | Vineyard Mgr, Stoller Family Estate | Wine grapes | Willamette Valley, OR |
| Katey Taylor | Vineyard Mgr, Constellation Brands | Wine grapes | Napa Valley, CA |
| Bryan Rahn | President, Coastal Viticultural Consultants, LLC | Wine grapes | Napa Valley, CA |
| Dr. Anna-Liisa Fabritius | Owner, AL&L Crop Solutions Inc. | Diagnostics | Vacaville, CA |
| Mark Gibbs | Oregon Vineyard Supply | Crop protection | McMinnville, OR |
| Ben Smith | Co-Manager, Hinkelman Farms; Michigan St. Hort Society | Wine grapes | Benton Harbor, MI |
| Eric Seifarth | Crane Creek Vineyards | Wine grapes | Young Harris, GA |
| David Gadoury | Sr. Research Associate, Cornell University | VitisGen2 / Disease Mgt | New York / Northeast |
| Lance Cadle-Davidson | Research Plant Pathologist, USDA-ARS | VitisGen2 / Genetics | National |