Berry and Potato Pathology
Dr. Chakradhar Mattupalli, Department of Plant Pathology
Roshani Baral – M.S. student
Research Focus: Botrytis management in blueberries
Start Date: Spring 2022
Purnima Puri – M.S. student
Research Focus: Biology and management of silver scurf disease of potato
Start Date: Summer 2022
Mary Steele – Ph.D. student
Research Focus: Understanding fungicide resistance profiles of blueberry fruit rot pathogens
Start Date: Fall 2023
Entomology
Dr. Louie Nottingham, Department of Entomology
Adriana Barsan – M.S. student
Research Focus: Impact of crop rotations on arthropod communities in terms of resilience, localized diversity, and area-wide recruitment of beneficial arthropods.
Start Date: Summer 2023
Laura Flandermeyer – M.S. student (Pullman, co-advised)
Research Focus: Modeling outbreaks of leafhopper vectored X-disease in cherry.
Start Date: Fall 2022
Molly Sayles – Ph.D. student (Wenatchee)
Research Focus: Advancing Extension Programs for Pear IPM and Development of Novel Monitoring Techniques
Start Date: Fall 2021
Small Fruit Horticulture
Dr. Lisa Wasko DeVetter, Department of Horticulture
Kayla Brouwer – M.S. student
Research Focus: Pollination of highbush blueberries
Start Date: Spring 2022
Salena Helmreich – Ph.D. student in Entomology (co-advised)
Research Focus: Pollination of highbush blueberry and wild bees
Start Date: Fall 2021
Laura Webb – M.S. in Ag student
Research Focus: Optimizing plant care in a changing climate
Start Date: Spring 2023
Ben Weiss – M.S. student
Research Focus: Hydromulching in berry crops
Start Date: Spring 2023
Soil Health
Dr. Deirdre Griffin LaHue, Department of Crop and Soil Sciences
Madeline Desjardins – Ph.D. student (co-advised by Dr. Lisa DeVetter)
Research Focus: Soil health impacts of biosolids amendments, cover cropping, and grazing in dryland systems of central Washington.
Start Date: Summer 2021
Evan Domsic – Ph.D. student
Research Focus: Relationships between soil health & quinoa nutritional quality.
Start Date: Summer 2021
Nayab Gull – Ph.D. student (co-advised by Dr. Lisa DeVetter)
Research Focus: Impacts of soil-biodegradable plastic mulches on soil health and horticultural outcomes in strawberry systems
Start Date: Summer 2023
Kwabena Sarpong – Ph.D. student
Reseach Focus: Assessing soil health and the relevancy of soil health indicators across major specialty crops in Washington state.
Start Date: Spring 2020
Annah Young – M.S. in Ag student
Research topic: Impacts of perennial grains on soil health
Start date: Spring 2022
Soils & Water
Dr. Gabriel LaHue, Department of Crop and Soil Sciences
Paul Martinez – Ph.D. student
Research Focus: Impacts of soil health management practices on the physical and chemical properties of soils and on grain quality.
Start Date: Fall 2022
Jessica Mulvey – M.S. in Ag student
Research Focus: Biofortification and ex-situ conservation for crop micronutrient content
Start Date: Spring 2021
Sahil Thapa – M.S. student (co-advised by Dr. Lindsey du Toit)
Research Focus: The effect of irrigation and nitrogen management on the bacterial diseases of Onion.
Start Date: Fall 2023
Chloe Waters – M.S. in Ag student
Research Focus: Critical soil and plant tissue thresholds to guide nitrogen management in onion production.
Start Date: Spring 2023
Claire Yost – M.S. student in Soil Science
Research Focus: Reduced Irrigation and regulated deficit irrigation for cider apple production.
Start Date: Fall 2022
Vegetable Horticulture
Dr. Carol Miles, Department of Horticulture
Seth Brawner – M.S. student
Research Focus: Mechanized hedging and harvest of cider apples.
Start Date: Fall 2022
Alex Cornwall – Ph.D. student at WSU Pullman
Research Focus: Identifying Lactuca sp. with genetic barcoding and taxonomy and gene exploration of wild relatives of Lactuca sativa.
Start Date: Fall 2020
Ann Kowenstrot – M.S. in Ag student at University of Alaska, Palmer
Research Focus: Rhubarb Research in Alaska and Recommended Varieties for Commercial Production.
Start Date: Fall 2021
Laura Schulz – Ph.D. student
Research Focus: Sweetpotato traits for production in western Washington
Start Date: Spring 2023
Srijana Shrestha – Ph.D. student
Research Focus: Developing tea plant propagation methods for nursery production in Washington.
Start Date: Fall 2022
Vegetable Seed Pathology
Dr. Lindsey du Toit, Department of Plant Pathology
Stephanie Crane – M.S. in Ag student
Research Focus: Management of Pseudomonas syringae pv. aptata in table beet and Swiss chard.
Start Date: Spring 2020
Marilen Nampijja – Ph.D. student
Research Focus: Management of Pseudomonas syringae pv. aptata in table beet and Swiss chard seed production.
Start Date: Spring 2020
Zephyr Papin-Tillery – M.S. in Ag student
Research Focus:
Start Date: Summer 2022
Kayla Spawton – Ph.D. student
Research Focus: The ecology and management of Stemphylium leaf spot of spinach.
Start Date: Fall 2018
Sustainable Seed Systems Lab
Dr. Kevin Murphy, Department of Crop and Soil Sciences
Rachel Breslauer – Ph.D. student
Research Focus: Dissecting contributions of quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa willd) and buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum Moench) to agroecosystem and human health
Start Date: Fall 2019
WSU Breadlab
Dr. Stephen Jones, Department of Crop and Soil Sciences
Merri Metcalfe – Ph.D. student
Research Focus: Accessibility, quality, and affordability of grain-based products from Western Washington with an emphasis on making nutritional food more available within our communities.
Start Date: Fall 2018
Robin Morgan – Ph.D. student
Research Focus: Exploring the intersections between breeding and baking.
Start Date: Fall 2018
Louie Prager – Ph.D. student
Research Focus: Breeding colored barley for malting, with a focus on varieties for organic agriculture.
Start Date: Summer 2020
Laura Valli – Ph.D. student
Research Focus: The agronomic and social aspects of rye in western Washington.
Start Date: Spring 2019
Completed Students
2023
Alexandre Dias da Silva – Visiting Ph.D. student (Departed 2023)
Research Focus: Understanding the timing of calcium accumulation in raspberries to better inform calcium fertilizer programs
Harmony Varner – M.S. (2023)
Thesis Title: Irrigation scheduling for high-value annual specialty crops in the face of climate change: Two research approaches.
2022
Alex Batson – Ph.D. (2022)
Dissertation Title: The genetic basis of pathogenicity to spinach of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. spinaciae.
Tessa Belo – M.S. (Spring 2022)
Thesis Title:
Alec Blume – M.S. in Ag (Summer 2022)
Thesis Title: Impact of soil fumigants on potato microbial communities
Sam Chronert – Ph.D. (2022)
Dissertation Title:
Aidan Kendall – M.S. (Spring 2022)
Research Focus: Developing resource-efficient cider apple production systems.
Qianwen Lu – Ph.D. (Spring 2022)
Dissertation Title: Advancing Floricane Raspberry Nutrient Management in the Pacific Northwest.
Brenda Madrid – M.S. (2022)
Thesis Title:
Molly McIlquham – M.S. (Spring 2022)
Thesis Title: Calibrating Soil Health Metrics for Washington State’s Primary Wine Grape Growing Region.
Xuechun “May” Wang – M.S. (Spring 2022)
Thesis Title: Soil-biodegradable mulch in a double cropped strawberry and lettuce system and implications on splash dispersal of Botrytis cinerea.
2021
Pinki Devi – Ph.D. (2021)
Dissertation Focus: Propagation methods to increase the grafting success of watermelon and rootstock resistance to Verticillium dahliae.
Cheyenne Sloan – M.S. (2021)
Thesis Title: Nitrogen Supply from Soil Organic Matter: Predictors and Implications for Nutrient Management in Northern Highbush Blueberry
Toby Una – M.S. (2021)
Thesis Title: Winter Cover Crop Suitability for Improved Soil Health in Northwestern Washington
2020
Amit Bhasin – M.S. (2020)
Thesis Title: Evaluating and optimizing fertilizer sources/rates in Organic Blueberry production in central Washington.
Yixin Cai – M.S. (2020)
Thesis Title: Machine harvesting comparison and optimization of machine harvest intervals in fresh market blueberry.
Ryan Solemslie – M.S. (2020)
Thesis Title: Cold season tolerance and prevalence of seedling blights in sweet corn in the Columbia Basin of Washington.
Huan Zhang – Ph.D. (June 2020)
Dissertation Title: Studying the application of biodegradable mulches in tissue culture red raspberry.
2019
Abigail Attavar – M.S. (Spring 2019)
Thesis Title: Testing the field germination of Green Leaf and Cos lettuce seeds in cold conditions, in four locations across the U.S.
Billie Juan Espejo – M.S. in Ag (2019)
Thesis Title: The development of bioassays to test antifungal activity of bacterial strains against Pythium aphanidermatum on cucumber
Weixin Gan – M.S. (2019)
Thesis Title: The growth conditions and cultivation management of tissue culture seedings of crabapple.
Yao Mu – M.S. in Ag (Spring 2019)
Thesis Title: Testing new crops for production potential in Northwest Washington.
2018
Travis Alexander – Ph.D. (2018)
Dissertation Title: The postharvest quality implications of mechanically harvesting cider apples for growers and hard cider makers.
Fairuz Buajaila – Ph.D. (2018)
Dissertation Title: Comparing poultry manure to commercial mineral fertilizers for nutrition and fruit quality of grafted and non-grafted tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L) in high tunnels.
Shuresh Ghimire – Ph.D. (2018)
Dissertation Title: Efficacy of different biodegradable mulches on pumpkin yield and quality, and mulch biodegradability in Northwest Washington.
Wiharti Purba – Ph.D. (Fall 2018)
Dissertation title:
2017
Matthew Arrington – Ph.D. (Fall 2017)
Dissertation Title: Optimization of pollination and fruit set in blueberry: Flower morphology, alternative pollinators, and nutrient supplementation
Shannon Carmody – M.S. (2017)
Thesis Title: Management of the seedborne phase of light leaf spot (Cylindrosporium concentricum) and white leaf spot (Pseudocercosporella capsellae) in brassica crops.
Sahar Dabirian – M.S. (Spring 2017)
Thesis Title: Optimizing watermelon grafting to control Verticillium wilt in Washington.
Rachel Rudolph – Ph.D. (Fall 2017)
Dissertation Title: Management strategies for Phytophthora rubi andPratylenchus penetrans in floricane red raspberry in the Pacific Northwest
John Weber – M.S. (2017)
Thesis Title: Management of white mold in sunflower seed crops in the semi-arid Columbia Basin of central Washington.
2016
Abby Beissinger – M.S. (Fall 2016)
Thesis Title: Proactive Approaches for Managing Potato virus Y in Western Washington.
Robin Taylor – M.S. (2016)
Thesis Title: Quantification of Food Policy Groups within the Puget Sound Region.
2015
Kelly Ann Atterberry – M.S. (2015)
Thesis Title: Nutrition Education and School Garden Projects with K–12 Students to Promote Consumption of Dry Beans.
Brook Brouwer – Ph.D. (2015)
Dissertation Title: Plant breeding for regional food systems: investigating craft malt, disease resistance and production potential of barley and dry beans in western Washington.
Louisa Brouwer (neé Winkler) – Ph.D. (2015)
Dissertation Title: Building the genetic, agronomic and economic foundations for expansion of oat cultivation in western Washington.
Charlene Grahn – M.S. (2015)
Thesis Title: Direct market production of baby-leaf salad greens during spring and fall seasons in Western Washington.
Alexandra Valeria Swidergal – M.S. in Ag (Fall 2015)
Thesis Title: Techniques for Evaluating Verticillium Wilt Resistance in Rootstocks Potentially Useful for Tomato Grafting
Jesse Wimer – M.S. (2015)
Thesis Title: Grafting Watermelons to Manage Verticillium Wilt in Washington State.
2014
Eric Christianson – M.S. (2014)
Thesis Title: Screening carrot germplasm for resistance to Xanthomonas hortorum pv. carotae.
Jeremy Cowan – Ph.D. (2014)
Dissertation Title: Impacts of High Tunnels and Bio-Degradable Mulch Systems on Tomato Yield and Quality.
Ziduan (Paul) Han – M.S. (2014)
Thesis Title: Assessing the damage potential of the root lesion nematode Pratylenchus penetrans on raspberry varieties.
Caitlin Price Youngquist – Ph.D. (2014)
Dissertation Title: Agricultural use and community acceptance of biosolids compost produced at a rural waste water treatment plant.
2013
Ana Vida Alcala – Ph.D. (2013)
Dissertation Title: Management of Damping-off in Organic Vegetable Production in the Pacific Northwest.
Charles Coslor – M.S. (2013)
Thesis Title: Effects of Neonicotinoids on Adult and Immature Drosophila suzukii in the Laboratory and in an Experimental Blueberry Field.
Jeffery Endelman – Ph.D. (2013)
Dissertation Title: Advances in Barley Genomics: Association analysis, Breeding values, and Consensus mapping.
Emily Gatch – Ph.D. (2013)
Dissertation Title: Increasing the Capacity for Spinach Seed Production in the United States by Promoting Soil Suppression of Fusarium Wilt.
Karen Hills – Ph.D. (2013)
Dissertation Title: Improvement of Small Grains Grown in Western Washington.
Amy Salamone – M.S. (2013)
Thesis Title: Effects of Temporary Flooding Rotations on Rhizoctonia solani AG-3 and on Soil Bacterial Communities in Western Washington
2012
Yushan (Sherry) Duan – M.S. (2012)
Thesis Title: Benefits of Cane Burning to Red Raspberry in the Pacific Northwest.
Sacha Johnson – M.S. (2012)
Thesis Title: Grafting Vegetables for Resistance to Verticillium dahliae.
Lucas Patzek – Ph.D. (2012)
Dissertation Title: Root Disease and Nitrogen Use Efficiency in Cereal/Vegetable Production Systems in Washington.
Marianne Powell – M.S. (2012)
Thesis Title: Biodegradable Mulches for Specialty Crops Produced Under Protective Covers.
2011
Callie Bolton – M.S. (2011)
Thesis Title: Organic Weed Control in a Newly Established Vineyard.
Jessica Gigot – Ph.D.
Dissertation Title: Root Health Management in Raspberries (Ph.D., 2011)
Thesis Title: Transmission of Phytophthora infestans on Volunteer Potato Tubers (M.S., 2006)
Jennifer Niem – M.S. (2011)
Thesis Title: Effects of flooding on survival of Sclerotinia and Verticillium in potato field soils of western Washington.
2010 and Prior
Jamie Cummings – M.S. (2007)
Thesis Title: Evaluation of organic seed treatments for control of seedling blight/damping-off pathogens of spinach.
Pablo Hernandez-Perez – M.S. (2005)
Thesis Title: Management of seedborne Stemphylium botryosum and Cladosporium variabile causing leaf spot of spinach seed crops in western Washington.