| Alejandra I. Huerta, PhD Dr. Huerta is Assistant Professor in Phytobacteriology at North Carolina State University. Her research goal is to advance our scientific understanding of the interacting components that influence the survival, establishment, and suppression of plant pathogenic bacteria within agricultural systems, and how this impacts plant health and productivity. She believes that understanding the fundamental biology of plants and their pathogens will lead directly to applications. Dr. Huerta was born in Michoacán, Mexico and immigrated to Salinas, California the “Salad Bowl of the World” with her family. English is her second language, Portuguese her third language and she is a first-generation college graduate. Alejandra is passionate about agriculture, plant disease, and STEM education. She received a Bachelors in Spanish and Portuguese from the University of California in Santa Barbara and a second Bachelor’s in Chemistry from the University of California in Santa Cruz prior to earning her doctoral degree in Plant Pathology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. |  |
| Ying-Yu Liao, PhD, Postdoctoral Research Scientist Dr. Liao is |  |
| Samah (Yaken) Ameen, Graduate Student Samah’s research interests in agricultural science and the development of innovative solutions to plant diseases stemmed from a love of molecular and microbial biology. As an undergraduate, she had been involved in research teams seeking solutions by engineering bacteria to dispose of lignin-saturated wastes and produce highly valued biofuels to testing previously identified biological control agents for the inhibition of a phytopathogenic fungi from toxic contamination of valuable crops. Samah is a master’s student and the focus of her research project is to understand the functions and diversity of bacterial toxins deployed by plant pathogenic bacteria. The long-term goal of her research is to develop novel biological treatments to improve agricultural sustainability while reducing environmental damage through precision agriculture. |  |
| Roshni Panwala, Undergraduate Researcher Roshni is an undergraduate student studying Crop and Soil Sciences and Political Science with a concentration in Crop Biotechnology and Regulatory Policy. She has spent the last two years as an intern in de-regulated trait research within a Soybean Discovery Breeding Program at BASF. She hopes to gain hands research experience within Plant Pathology as it relates to bacterial diseases in the Huerta Lab as well as build a skill set in molecular analysis. Looking forward, Roshni hopes to attend Graduate School for Tropical Plant Pathology, specifically in bacterial and fungal diseases of Cocoa and Coffee. |  |
| Payton Ferguson, Undergraduate Researcher | |
| Amanda DeLucia, Undergraduate Researcher Amanda is an Undergraduate at NC State studying Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems. She has been participating in plant pathology research since the summer preceding her junior year and have developed a deep appreciation for bacterial and fungal pathogens. Amanda has been passionate about agriculture and plant health since her involvement in a vocational agriscience and biotechnology program in my secondary education. She hopes to continue following my passions through a potential extension of my academic career through graduate school studying sustainable agriculture in some capacity. |  |
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