College of Agriculture & Natural Resources Department of Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences

My research focuses on the microbial ecology of switchgrass and its implications for bioenergy crop yield and energy conversion efficiency.  

My work spans several key areas: I examine how lignin-reduced switchgrass affects its fungal and bacterial communities, both aboveground and belowground and how nitrogen amendments influence community structure arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and switchgrass yield. Additionally, I explore how switchgrass root extracts shape the growth of rhizosphere and endosphere bacteria. I am responsible for genomic and transcriptomic workflows for a core consortium of switchgrass and sorghum-associated fungi, preparing high-quality DNA and RNA for sequencing. I also monitor switchgrass rust infections by using digital PCR for samples from multiple years and different locations.