Prof. James W. Buck currently works as a Professor of Diseases of soybean, wheat, and ornamentals at the Department of Plant Pathology, University of Georgia, Griffin Campus, USA. He obtained a B.S. in Botany at Brandon University, an M.S. in Plant Sciences at Western University and a Ph.D. in Plant Pathology at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. His research is focused on the biology and management of diseases of soybean, wheat, and ornamental plants. Specific pathosystems include rust, stem canker, and frog eye leaf spot of soybean; leaf rust, stripe rust, and fusarium head blight of wheat, as well as rusts affecting ornamental plants. He works closely with UGA plant breeders Drs. Zenglu Li and Mohammed Mergoum to produce high-yielding, disease-resistant soybean and wheat varieties, respectively.
Prof. Alfredo D. Martinez-Espinoza received his B.S. degree in agronomy from the Universidad Antonio Narro (UAAAN) in 1985 and subsequently worked in the wheat pathology program at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) before obtaining his Ph.D. degree in plant pathology from Montana State University in 1993. Following postdoctoral work, he was appointed as an assistant professor and is currently a full professor in the Department of Plant Pathology at the University of Georgia (UGA). His primary responsibility is the development and transfer of information for disease management in turfgrasses (sod production, golf courses, sports fields, professional landscapes, and lawn care), as well as small grains and nonlegume forages. He is stationed at the UGA Griffin Campus. His instructional responsibilities include co-teaching an undergraduate course on turfgrass pest management and a graduate laboratory on the Diagnosis and Management of Plant Diseases.
Dr. Bochra A. Bahri is an Associate Professor of Turfgrass and Forage Pathology at the Department of Plant Pathology, University of Georgia, Griffin Campus, USA. She obtained a Dipl. Ing. Agr. in Agricultural Sciences and Plant Protection at the National Institute of Agronomy Tunis, an M.S. in Plant Protection and Environment at Agro-Paris-Tech, France, and a Ph.D. in Life Sciences and Plant Pathology at the University of Paris XI Orsay, France. Her research program covers several aspects of plant pathology including epidemiology, pathogen population structure, pathogen adaptation to hosts and climate change, and resistance gene identification in diverse plant–pathogen systems. She is particularly interested in understanding race dynamics and plant–pathogen interactions using genomics and transcriptomic approaches. Specific pathosystems include dollar spot on turfgrass, rust on switchgrass, rusts and septoria leaf blotch on wheat. Substantial efforts are directed towards developing disease-management strategies for main turfgrass and forages in Georgia. Her research interests also include deciphering the role of plant-associated microbes in developing novel approaches for disease management. The goal is to provide an ecological basis to improve the sustainability of turfgrass/forage cultivation systems by reducing reliance on chemical control and enhancing environmental and economic stewardship.
