Lab members 2019

Current lab members

Professor, Department of Plant Pathology, Kansas State University

Eduard is excited about applying genomics, genetics, bioinformatics and multi-omics approaches for studying the genetic control of agronomic traits in wheat and applying this knowledge to develop tools and resources for wheat imporvement.

Katherine Jordan

Research Assistant Professor, Department of Plant Pathology, Kansas State University

Katie's projects are focused on studying wheat genomic diversity and the genetics of complex traits using diversity panels and nested association mapping populations. She played college basketball at Gardner-Webb University, and played in 2012 World Series of softball in Research Triangle Park at Durham Bulls Stadium. Since then she has retired from sports and is an amateur winemaker.

Yuanwen Guo

Postdoctoral researcher, Department of Plant Pathology, Kansas State University

My current research focuses on studying genetic architecture of wheat phenotypic variation, identifying genomic regions associated with traits of interest and validating candidate gene functions. Over the past few years, I have been working on linkage mapping and genome wide association mapping in crops such as wheat, maize and bermudagrass. My research interests lie in crop improvement with classical and modern genetic and genomic tools.

Fei He

Postdoctoral researcher, Department of Plant Pathology, Kansas State University

Fei works on gene expression data analysis, population genetics and systems biology. In his free time, he enjoys swimming and basketball.

Wei Wang

Postdoctoral researcher, Department of Plant Pathology, Kansas State University

Wei is working on CRISPR/Cas-based wheat genome editing and studying the genetics of plant-pathogen interaction. Wei is a badminton and volleyball player.

Elina Adhikari

Graduate student, Department of Plant Pathology, Kansas State University

Elina studies adaptation of wheat and its wild relatives to diverse environments using historic and current climatic data, and applies this information to identify adaptive genetic variation and to develop predictive models for genomic selection.

Bliss Betzen

Graduate student, Department of Plant Pathology, Kansas State University

Bliss is a graduate student studying genetics. She is investigating co-evolution of fungal avirulence factors and corresponding wheat stem rust resistance genes. In Bliss' free time she enjoys playing cello, swimming, reading, and watching movies.

Dwight Davidson

Technician, Department of Plant Pathology, Kansas State University

Dwight helps with taking care of the greenhouse plants, seed processing, and also drone-based phenotyping, image processing, and data collection. Dwight also likes to lift weights, play a variety of sports, hike, and play games.