Edwin D. Navarro-Monserrat is a Ph.D. candidate at the Department of Plant Pathology at Ohio State University (OSU). He received his B.S. in Cellular-Molecular Biology from the University of Puerto Rico (2018) and has an M.S. in Plant Pathology from OSU. His research work focuses on plant-beneficial microorganisms. He has participated in programs such as I-CORPS@Ohio and has earned two OSU internal grants. Additionally, he enjoys involving himself in science communication opportunities and has participated in various outreach talks with CienciaPR and other groups.

Christopher G. Taylor received his B.S. in Biochemistry (1989) at Penn State University and his Ph.D. in Genetics (1996) from North Carolina State University. After graduating, he began his professional career working as a post-doctoral researcher in the Potato Research Unit at Monsanto. In 1996, he joined the Disease Control Group at Monsanto as a senior scientist with a focus on Nematology. In 1999, he joined Akkadix Inc. as a senior scientist and as group leader of the Nematode Research Group. In 2001, he moved his research program to the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center where he was a principal investigator. He moved his laboratory in 2009 to Ohio State University and is now an associate professor in the Department of Plant Pathology, running the Root/Biotic Interaction Laboratory. His research focuses on the basic and applied biology of plant/biotic interactions with an emphasis on how plant-interacting organisms interact with plant roots. He has contributed to the study of root interactions with nitrogen-fixing and rhizospheric bacteria, fungi, oomycetes, and plant-parasitic nematodes. Of particular interest to him is how microorganisms influence developmental, physiological, and biochemical changes within the root that impact plant health, reduce the incidence of disease, and improve yield.