Research

Our group focuses on understanding immunity in the grasses

Genetic architecture of nonhost resistance

Identifying nonhost resistance genes that maintain immunity to cereal rusts (Puccinia spp.)

Tradeoffs between biotrophs and necrotrophs

The molecular tradeoffs of R genes between resistance to biotrophs and susceptibility to necrotrophs

Genomics of immune receptors in the grasses

Defining the set of immune receptors in the grasses and understanding the evolution of immunity

Training

Training the next-generation of scientists

Genetics

Genetics is used to understand how genetic variation contributes to phenotypic variation. We use a range of approaches including forward genetics (linkage and association mapping, natural and induced variation) and reverse genetics (genomics, phylogenetics, gene silencing, and site-directed mutagenesis).

Bioinformatics

Bioinformatics is a critical skill in order to understand biological complexity. Our group uses a range of programming languages and software, with emphasis on Python and R. We use a project-based learning strategy to develop an individuals expertise and mastery in bioinformatics.

Outreach

Our group actively engages with the scientific and wider community through personal and electronic communication. We adhere to the goals of open access and ensure the availability of raw data, analysis pipelines, manuscript, and reviews. In parallel, we are currently developing tutorials in several common challenges in studying genetics and bioinformatics.

Tutorials

We are currently developing a range of bioinformatic tutorials and resources for analyzing biological data sets.

Open access