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Contributor Biographies:

Department of Plant Pathology
Barton Laboratory
New York State Agricultural Experiment Station (http://www.nysaes.cornell.edu)

Cornell University
Geneva, NY 14456-0462

Gustavo Fermin was born in Caracas,Venezuela and received his B.S. and M.S. degrees in Biology and Molecular Biology at Universidad de Los Andes in Mèrida, the Venezuelan Andes. He is in the fourth year of his doctoral program with Dr. Dennis Gonsalves in Molecular Plant Pathology at Cornell University. His dissertation research involves engineering gene silencing by designing synthetic transgenes to get broad, durable, viral resistance in plants. He is interested in transferring biotechnology to Latin American countries.

Baozhong Meng

Baozhong Meng received his B.S. in Agriculture and his M.S. in Plant Pathology from Hebei Agricultural University, Hebei, People’s Republic of China. He recently completed his Ph.D. in Plant Pathology from Cornell University. He is currently a postdoctoral research associate with Dr. Dennis Gonsalves. His research efforts focus on studies of major grapevine viruses and the diseases they cause, including molecular biology, developing rapid detection methods, and disease control through genetic engineering using virus genes.

Kisung Ko is a postdoctoral associate working with Dr. Herb S. Aldwinckle, and Dr. John L. Norelli. He received a B.S. (1991) in Horticultural Sciences from the Seoul National, an M.S. (1996) in Fruit and Vegetables Sciences from Cornell University, and a Ph.D. (1999) in Horticultural Sciences from Cornell University. He has worked on developing apple varieties with resistance to fire blight (Erwinia amylovora) using biotechnology. Currently, he is working on developing a transformation protocol for the dwarfing M.9 apple rootstock to allow engineering of improved disease resistance and horticultural traits. His research interests are to develop woody fruit and ornamental crops for agricultural and pharmaceutical purposes using traditional breeding and biotechnology approaches.

Sudeshna Mazumdar-Leighton is working on grape biotechnology and insect-virus-plant interactions with Dr. Dennis Gonsalves. Her previous research experiences include molecular characterization of the physiological responses in insects feeding on diets containing toxic plant compounds and protein products of transgenes, such as proteinase inhibitors. In 1996, she obtained her Ph.D. from Delhi University, India and IRRI, Philippines where she worked towards development of insect-resistant transgenic rice. Her M.S. (Genetics) and B.S. (Botany) degrees are from Miranda House, Delhi University, India. A member of the Organic Farmers Association in New York, her interests include exploring molecular interfaces for development of sustainable agro-ecosystems and international agriculture.

Augustine Gubba is a postdoctoral associate working with Dr. Dennis Gonsalves. He received a B.S. in Agriculture from the University of Zimbabwe and an M.S. in Applied Plant Sciences from Wye College, University of London. Earlier this year, he completed his Ph.D. in Plant Pathology from Cornell University. He has worked in both agricultural extension and research in Zimbabwe. His current research interests are on developing transgenic vegetables with broad resistance to virus infection. Currently, he is looking at developing tomato plants with broad resistance to different isolates of tomato spotted wilt virus by combining transgenic with natural resistances using sexual crossings. He intends to play an active role in current efforts to transfer biotechnology to Africa.

Juliet Carroll is a postdoctoral associate working with Dr. Wayne F. Wilcox. She received her B.S. in Botany from the University of Maine, her M.S. in Plant Pathology from the University of Massachusetts, and her Ph.D. in Plant Pathology from Cornell University. She has worked on forest and shade tree diseases, plant disease diagnosis, and plant virus diseases. Currently, she is working on the epidemiology of grapevine powdery mildew. She has been active in extension and outreach to non-science and young audiences and is a member of the Office of Public Affairs and Education Board of APS.