Research in the department on Host-Parasite Interactions and Genomics integrates pathogen genomics, computational biology and phylogeny, combined target-specific and genome-scale functional analyses to provide an unprecedented view of how organisms have evolved to be pathogens of plants and how they adapt to environmental selection. An important component of this research is an understanding of the response of host-plants to infection at the genome level and elucidating the cellular and subcellular processes in host-parasite interactions.
- Dr. Oliver Baars – Analysis and biological chemistry of exudates in plant-microbe interactions. Nutrient controls on plant microbiome activity.
- Dr. Peter Balint-Kurti – Mapping and functional analysis of quantitative loci conferring resistance to fungal pathogens in maize
- Dr. Ignazio Carbone – Fungal evolutionary genomics, population genetics; phylogeography
- Dr. Christina Cowger – Population and molecular genetics of fungal diseases of cereals
- Dr. Marc Cubeta – Genetics, ecology, and population biology of soil fungi
- Dr. Eric L. Davis – Functional genomics & molecular mechanisms of parasitism by nematodes
- Dr. Ralph A. Dean – Fungal and host genomics; Director, Center for Integrated Fungal Research
- Dr. Lina Quesada – Diseases of cucurbit crops and sweetpotato to deliver novel and improved disease management strategies to growers in North Carolina and advance our knowledge in the field of vegetable pathology.
- Dr. Jean Beagle Ristaino – Population genomics of Phytophthora infestans and molecular evolution.
- Dr. David F. Ritchie – Molecular and population genetics of phytobacteria
- Dr. R. Gregory Upchurch – Membrane transport and fatty acid metabolism in fungal pathogenesis