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People

Dr. Brian McSpadden Gardener received his Ph.D. in Botany from Michigan State University in 1998. He began work in the field of biological control of plant pathogens as an ARS postdoctoral fellow under the guidance of Dr. David Weller. He joined the faculty at the Ohio State University in 2001 where he currently serves as an Associate Professor. He was appointed Visiting Professor and World Class University Scholar at Chonnam National University in 2009. His research focuses on defining the diversity, population dynamics, and ecological functioning of microbial populations that colonize crop plants. Particular emphasis is given to studying plant-associated bacteria with potential for development as biopesticides.

Post-doctoral Fellows and Visiting Scientists

Sunjeong Park is a recent graduate of the Environmental Graduate Studies Program at The Ohio State University. In Dr. McSpadden Gardener's lab, her research focuses on the effects of cover crops on soil biochemistry and microbial community structure and function

Graduate Students

Chunxue Cao is a graduate student in the Plant Pathology Department. Her research focuses on how tomato grafting affects phytochemistry, microbial populations, and disease resistance. She gained her undergraduate degree from China Agricultural University in Beijing in 2009.

Xiaoqing Rong is a graduate student in Plant Pathology Department. Her research will focus on the genetic basis for plant pathogen suppression by various rhizobacteria.

Technicians and Undergraduate Assistants

Seth Maurer is a current undergraduate student at the College of Wooster majoring in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology where he will graduate in 2010. Seth will be completing his Senior Independent Study project with Brian for the 2009-2010 academic year. He plans to attend Medical School upon graduation. His current project is to test potential biofungicides generated from bacterial strains.

Summer season assistants

Bill Feldman worked as a technician for the summer of 2009, focusing primarily on setting up bioassay experiments in the growth chamber, and collecting data for biocontrol analysis.

Elizabeth Floom graduated from high school in 2008 and is currently attending Stark State College in North Canton where she pursues a degree in biotechnology. She worked with Brian for the summer of 2009, participating in the ORIP internship. Her research focused on determining the biocontrol potential of strains of Mitsuaria, Psuedomonas, and Burkholderia.

Mohit Ballaney conducted research in Brian's lab for the 2009 summer. While there, he studied the genomics and biocontrol of phlD+ Pseudomonas fluorescens strains. He will graduate from the College of Wooster with a degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in 2010.

Bethany Caldwell graduated from the College of Wooster with a degree in Biology in 2009. She worked as the lab technician for the summer of 2009. She will attend The Ohio State University Medical School in the fall of 2010.