Dr. Ragunathan Devendran received his MSc from the Madurai Kamaraj University in 2010, and his Ph.D. from the Jawaharlal Nehru University in 2019. He was the Senior Project Officer at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (2019-2020). Currently, he is a Post Doctoral Researcher at the University of Georgia, Tifton Campus and Charles Tanford Protein Canter, Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg. His research interests include plant molecular biology, biotechnology, plant virology, and plant–pathogen interaction.
Dr. Alvin M. Simmons is a Research Entomologist at USDA-ARS, U.S. Vegetable Laboratory. He received an M.S. (1983) and a Ph.D. (1987) in Entomology (University of Kentucky). He leads two USDA-ARS appropriated projects, and he is the Interim Coordinator for the USDA-ARS Minor Use Pesticide Program for Food and Ornamental Horticulture. His IPM research notably concerns environmental bionomics, biocontrol, plant resistance, insect–virus–plant relationships, and biopesticides. He has authored/co-authored 104 refereed journal articles, plus book chapters, co-released 5 breeding lines, and provided over 300 technical reports resulting in over 200 pesticide labels. He is an adjunct faculty with Clemson University and College of Charleston. His extensive ESA service includes Co-chair of 2016 International Congress of Entomology (ICE 2016), Co-chair of ESA’s bid for ICE 2016, Program Co-Chair, Chair of International Affairs Committee, President of Southeastern Branch-ESA, 11 years on Entomological Foundation Board of Counselors, Committee on Education and Youth; Linnaean Games Committee, etc. He serves on ICE 2020 Organizing Committee, International Plant Resistance to Insects Steering Committee, and others. Alvin’s honors include first Department of Entomology Distinguished Alumni Award at University of Kentucky, IR-4 Meritorious Award, SEB-ESA Award for Excellence in IPM, SEB-ESA Recognition Award in Entomology, and Fellow of the Royal Entomological Society.
Dr. Sudeep Bag is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Plant Pathology, University of Georgia (since 2018). He completed his Ph.D. studies in Plant Pathology at Washington State University in 2013. He was a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at the University of California Davis (2013-2015) and a Post-Doctoral Scholar at the Oregon State University (2015-2018). His research interest is in the development of management strategies for virus diseases on economically important crops using interdisciplinary approaches. The primary focus is currently on etiology, epidemiology, and the genomics of emerging and re-emerging viruses in vegetable crops; understanding the crosstalk between the host–virus–vector system and utilizing it to mitigate disease; and the application of recent advances in genomics and molecular biology tools for virus disease management.
