Plant Pathology and Crop Physiology Graduate Student Association at LSU

03/03/2026

03/03/2026

Congratulations to Ph.D. student Joao Morales, advised by Dr. Andre Gama, for being awarded a stipend from the Louisiana Division of the American Society of Sugar Cane Technologists. Recipients are recognized for their academic achievements and performance. Joao was presented with his award at the recent Louisiana Division Meeting in Baton Rouge.

03/03/2026

Stephanie Ramos, Ph.D. student in the Department of Plant Pathology & Crop Physiology at LSU, is the year's Ray and Dorothy Young Graduate Student Award recipient!

This award recognizes outstanding achievements and supports the education and training of graduate students in the plant protection disciplines of w**d science, entomology, and plant pathology. Recipients must be full-time graduate students within the LSU College of Agriculture, and Ramos exemplifies the excellence this award is meant to honor.
About Ramos:
• Earned her B.S. in Agricultural Sciences from the Federal University of São Carlos in Brazil
• Completed her M.S. in Plant Pathology at LSU, where her research focused on disease epidemiology and fungicide resistance detection in Cercospora leaf blight of soybeans
• Currently pursuing her Ph.D. in Plant Pathology, developing data-driven approaches for integrated Cercospora leaf blight management
• Advised by Sara Thomas-Sharma

Stephanie’s long-term goal is to become an extension specialist or field scientist in plant pathology—bridging lab and field research to advance disease management and support sustainable agricultural production.

And thanks to Dorothy Young, pictured with Ramos, for supporting graduate student research!

03/03/2026

Congratulations to M.S. student Annabel Miller, advised by Dr. Madison Flasco, for being awarded a stipend from the Louisiana Division of the American Society of Sugar Cane Technologists. Recipients are recognized for their academic achievements and performance. Annabel was presented with her award at the recent Louisiana Division Meeting in Baton Rouge.

02/11/2026

Ph.D. student Emmanuel Lacueva recently presented research conducted in collaboration with fellow Ph.D. student Sandeep Gouli at the Plant & Animal Genome Conference 2026 (PAG 33) in San Diego, CA. Both students are members of Dr. Johg Hyun Ham’s laboratory. Their poster was entitled, "Drought-induced shifts in soybean root and rhizosphere microbiota, soil chemistry, and plant performance influenced by seed treatment of beneficial bacteria."
Of his experience at PAG 33, Emmanuel says, "This was my first time to attend PAG 33 in San Diego. It provided a valuable learning experience and an opportunity to observe current updates and trends in plant and animal genomics. Sessions related to microbiome research, bioinformatics, and emerging AI applications were of particular interest. Interacting with researchers from diverse backgrounds and hearing how they approach similar scientific questions helped broaden my perspective and encouraged more reflection on the direction of my research."

02/03/2026

PPCP SPOTLIGHT Meet Ricardo Gomes Tomaz, a Ph.D. student in the laboratory of Dr. Felipe Dalla Lana. His research focuses on mathematical modeling and remote sensing to study phenotypic responses of rice to plant disease. Ricardo obtained his Master's degree in Plant Pathology from the Universidade de Brasilia and Ph.D. in Plant Pathology at Universidade Federal de Viçosa.
When he has the opportunity, Ricardo says he likes to walk around the LSU campus and take advantage of the weather to exercise. In his free time, he enjoys watching sports.

02/03/2026

Zoe Woody, a master's student under the mentorship of Dr. Raj Singh, has been awarded the Foret/Meadows/Owings Scholarship by the Louisiana Nursery and Landscape Foundation. This scholarship recognizes students who demonstrate academic excellence, service to the green industry and their communities, impactful research, and strong career potential. Zoe's work focuses on identifying and managing pathogens that affect ornamental crops commonly grown in Louisiana nurseries. She will use the award to attend the Southern Division APS Conference, where she will present her research and engage in professional networking to support her future career in plant pathology. Congratulations Zoe!

02/03/2026

Jose Rojas-Iracheta, a master's student advised by Dr. Jong Hyun Ham, recently presented his research at the Plant & Animal Genome Conference 2026 (PAG 33) in San Diego, CA. His poster was entitled, "Pan-genomic and evolutionary insights into the global diversity and adaptive landscape of Pantoea ananatis."
Of his experience at PAG 33, Jose says, "I'm grateful for the opportunity to attend the conference. It was an inspiring experience diving into new areas of science, learning about emerging tools in genomics, transcriptomics, and systems biology, and seeing how researchers are tackling complex questions across plant, animal, and microbial systems."

01/06/2026

We are very proud to announce Masters student Timothy Miller has received the prestigious C. W. Edgerton Award, nominated by his advisor, Dr. Tristan Watson. He won this award for his outstanding academic and professional achievements, especially his significant contributions towards evaluating sweetpotato germplasm for resistance to the reniform nematode (Rotylenchulus reniformis).
C. W. Edgerton began his career as a plant pathologist at the Louisiana State Experiment Station, then rose to Professor and Department Head of Botany, Bacteriology and Plant Pathology in 1924 and held this position until he retired in 1950. During that time his productivity in research was truly remarkable. He had a profound influence on his many graduate students. He also had a unique ability to stimulate and challenge students and to transmit his enthusiasm, dedication and zeal for excellence to his associates. For these reasons, Dr. Edgerton’s sisters create this award to honor him by recognizing the outstanding performances of students who are in their last year of their M.S. or Ph.D. degree program. Congratulations Timothy!

12/12/2025

We are very proud to announce Ph.D. student Sunira Marahatta has received the prestigious C. W. Edgerton Award, nominated by her advisor, Dr. Zhi-yuan Chen. She won this award for her outstanding academic and professional achievements, especially her significant contributions in optimizing and improving the delivery of double strand RNA into plants for effective and sustainable management of soybean fungal diseases.

C. W. Edgerton began his career as a plant pathologist at the Louisiana State Experiment Station, then rose to Professor and Department Head of Botany, Bacteriology and Plant Pathology in 1924 and held this position until he retired in 1950. During that time his productivity in research was truly remarkable. He had a profound influence on his many graduate students. He also had a unique ability to stimulate and challenge students and to transmit his enthusiasm, dedication and zeal for excellence to his associates. For these reasons, Dr. Edgerton’s sisters create this award to honor him by recognizing the outstanding performances of students who are in their last year of their M.S. or Ph.D. degree program. Congratulations Sunira!

12/10/2025

About Our Students: William Escobar