Christina Jennings is currently earning their Ph.D. as a Graduate Research Assistant at Tennessee State University in Agricultural Science. They graduated from Tennessee Technological University in 2015 with a B.S. in Zoology and received a M.S. in Agricultural Science from Tennessee State University in 2019. Following their B.S., they served as a biological laboratory technician for USDA-ARS genetics at Otis L. Floyd Nursery Research Center from 2015 to 2016. After earning their M.S. degree, they worked as a plant pathology technician for Tennessee State University from 2019 to 2022 at the Otis L. Floyd Nursery Research Center.
Fulya Baysal-Gurel is an Interim Associate Dean of Research at the College of Agriculture and Associate Professor at Tennessee State University (TSU), Otis L. Floyd Nursery Research Center, holding a tenured
position. She graduated with a B.S. in Plant Protection from the Agriculture Faculty, Cukurova University. She received an M.S. in Plant Pathology and a Ph.D. in Plant Pathology from the Natural and Applied Sciences Institute, Cukurova University. She received the Outstanding Early Career Award from the TSU College of Agriculture in 2017. She has been a member of APS since 2005 and has served as chair of the APS Diseases of Ornamentals Subject Matter Committee and served as President of the Southern Division of the APS. She is a member of the board of the Office of International Programs (OIP) of the APS. She serves as senior editor of Plant Disease, editor of PhytoFrontiers, and section editor of the PDMR editorial board, which all are APS Journals. The primary research focus of her program is on the development of sustainable, environmentally friendly, and economical management practices for woody ornamental diseases.
