Contributor Biographies
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Tobin Peever obtained a B.Sc. in Botany from the University of Guelph in 1985, an M.Sc. in Botany from the University of Toronto in 1987, and a Ph.D. in Plant Pathology from Cornell University in 1994. His thesis research, supervised by Michael Milgroom, focused on the evolutionary genetics of resistance to sterol biosynthesis-inhibiting fungicides in Pyrenophora teres. Tobin was a post-doctoral research associate at Cornell from 1994-1996 working on the population biology of double-stranded RNAs in the chestnut blight fungus. He was a postdoctoral associate at the University of Florida from 1996-1998 working on the epidemiology and population genetics of Alternaria brown spot and greasy spot of citrus. Tobin has been an Assistant Professor in the Department of Plant Pathology at Washington State University in Pullman since 1998. His responsibilities are split between 70% research and 30% teaching. Current research interests include the population genetics, host specificity and molecular systematics of Alternaria spp. on citrus and the population genetics of Ascochyta rabiei on chickpeas.
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Robert Zeigler earned his B.Sc. from the University of Illinois in 1972, after which he joined the Peace Corps and taught high school science in a small school in rural Zaire. Upon return from Zaire he married Crissan, and subsequently earned an M.Sc. from Oregon State University in Botany and Plant Pathology (Forest Ecology), then a Ph.D in Plant Pathology from Cornell University. Their first child, Nicholas, was born in Ithaca.His doctoral thesis was on the Superelongation disease of cassava, with the field work conducted at the Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical (CIAT) in Cali, Colombia. Following completion of his Ph.D., he moved with his family to Burundi, where he headed a small maize improvement program for about three years. Their second child, Claire, was born under the light of a full moon in a small rural mission clinic in Burundi (but, that is another story). In 1985 the family moved back to Cali to take a position at CIAT where Bob served as rice pathologist for seven years and as Rice Program Leader from 1986 to 1992. His research focussed on rice hoja blanca virus (RHBV), bacterial sheath brown rot of rice, and especially rice blast disease. Their third child, Alison Rose, was born in Cali in the midst of some difficult times between the government and the narcotics industry. In 1992 the family moved to the Philippines after Bob took a position as pathologist and Program Leader at the international Rice Research Institute. There his research focused on rice blast disease and he was able to test a number of hypotheses related to the nature of durable resistance and population structure and dynamics of the blast pathogen in traditional rice growing environments. The term "myco-tourism" was coined by jealous colleagues to describe his research in the Indian Himalayas. In 1999, the Zeigler family moved to Manhattan Kansas, after Bob took up the position of Head of the Department of Plant Pathology and Director of the Plant Biotechnology Center at Kansas State University.
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Anne Dorrance has a B.S. in Forest Biology from the College of Environmental Science and Forestry, a M.S. in Plant Pathology from the University of Massachusetts and a Ph.D. from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Her, Ph.D. thesis, under the direction of Dr. Herman Warren, was on Diplodia ear rot resistance in maize and an assessment of the genetic variability of Stenocarpella maydis. She worked as a post-doctoral research associate with Dr. Debra A. Inglis, at Washington State University, Mount Vernon on late blight of potato caused by Phytophthora infestans. Anne’s current position is Assistant Professor in the Department of Plant Pathology at The Ohio State University in Wooster. Her responsibilities are divided at 30% field crops extension and 75% soybean disease research. Her current interests include the study of fungal pathogens of soybeans with a major emphasis on Phytophthora sojae and Sclerotinia sclerotiorum. Her main focus is on disease control through the use of disease resistant varieties. Her objective is to implement integrated disease management systems for no-till and reduced tillage production systems. She is a member of the OSU Extension Agronomic Crops Team. Currently, she is chair of the APS Cultural Diversity committee and a member of the Host Resistance committee.
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Fernando Correa-Victoria received his B.S. in Agronomy from the National University of Colombia and his M.S. and Ph. D. degrees in Botany and Plant Pathology from Michigan State University in 1987 working on the pathogenic variation, production of toxic metabolites, and isoenzyme analysis of the angular leaf spot disease (Phaeoisariopsis griseola) of dry beans. He joined CIAT, the International Center for Tropical Agriculture in Cali, Colombia in 1987 as Rice Pathologist and has been Rice Project Leader since 1998. His research interests include pathogenic variation, evolution, and population dynamics of the major biotic pests of rice with major emphasis on rice blast (Pyricularia grisea). His research is focused on breeding strategies based on host-pathogen interaction studies, mechanisms leading to the breakdown of genetic resistance and the development of durable blast resistance in commercial rice varieties for Latin America. He is currently working on the dissection of blast resistance genes in highly resistant cultivars in collaboration with breeders and molecular biologists and is involved in the training of research scientists from National Programs in the region.
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Steven K. St. Martin has a B.A. and M.S. from the University of Minnesota, a M.S. from the University of Nebraska, and a Ph.D. from Iowa State University. He was promoted to Professor in the Department of Horticulture and Crop Science in 1995. His responsibilities are divided at 50% research and 50% teaching. He teaches courses in data analysis, experimental design and grain crops. Current research interests involve quantitative genetics and breeding methodology in soybeans as related to improving a number of traits: disease resistance, flooding tolerance, grain yield, and food qualities.
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