Paul Esker

Professor of Epidemiology and Extension Specialist in Field and Forage Crops, Crop Pathology Co-Chair, International Agriculture and Development Dual Degree Graduate Program Faculty Member, Biogeochemistry 
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Research Interests: Plant disease epidemiology and integrated disease management, applications of statistical methods for the agricultural sciences, global issues in food security 

Bio: Paul received his M.Sc in Plant Pathology at Iowa State University. His Ph.D was in Plant Pathology and Statistics, also from Iowa State. He enjoys various sports, coffee, and spending time with his family. 

Dilooshi Weerasooriya

Postdoctoral Scholar/Lab Operations Manager
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​Research interests: Plant Breeding, Genetics and Trait Discovery, Statistical Genomics, Plant Disease Epidemiology, Fusarium Biocontrol

​Bio: Dilooshi is originally from Sri Lanka. She received her Ph.D in Plant Breeding and Genetics from Kansas State University with double minors in Applied Statistics and Genomics. She enjoys spending time in nature and baking sweet treats. 
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Projects: Fusarium Management

Santosh Sanjel

Postdoctoral Scholar​
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​Research interests: Agronomic data science, epidemiological modeling, causal inference, precision agriculture, applied computer vision and machine learning in agriculture

​Bio: Santosh Sanjel holds a MS and a Ph.D in Plant Pathology from the University of Florida. During his graduate studies, he specialized in epidemiological modeling of field crop diseases. In his free time, Santosh enjoys running, biking around campus, kayaking, frisbee, and learning R programming tricks. 

Projects: Application of Causal Modeling to Identify Best Management Practices in Soybean Cultivation, Data-Driven Approaches for Optimizing Soybean Production, Application of Computer Vision for Biodiversity Monitoring in Agricultural Systems

Miranda DePriest

Computational Scientist
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​Research interests: Big data, precision agriculture, soil microbiomes

​​Bio: Miranda got her B.S. in Biology from Colorado Mesa University and her M.S. in Ecology, where she researched the soil microbiome. She enjoys rock climbing and science fiction. 

Projects: Data Driven

Tyler McFeaters

Research Technologist 2
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​Research interests: Field crop disease management, White mold in soybean (Sclerotinia sclerotiorum), agricultural remote sensing

​​Bio: Tyler is from Fredericksburg, PA. He obtained his B.S. in Biology at Messiah University and his M.S. in Plant Pathology and International Agriculture and Development at Penn State. He enjoys running, mountain biking, and the Philadelphia Phillies.

Projects: Data Driven

Evan Buckner

PhD Candidate
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Research interests: Soilborne diseases of industrial hemp, Bud Rot (Botrytis cinerea) of CBD hemp, biocontrol, preplant disease risk assessment

Bio: Evan is from Pine Bluff, Arkansas and graduated with his B.S. in Crop Sciences and minor in Pest Management from the University of Arkansas in 2021. He enjoys baking and playing viola in area symphonic orchestras.

Publications: 

Olanrewaju "Lanre" Shittu

Ph.D. Candidate
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Research interests: Fusarium Head Blight (FHB, causal agent Fusarium graminearum) disease in small grains, agricultural innovation, international agriculture

Bio: Lanre is currently a dual-title Ph.D candidate in Plant Pathology and in International Agriculture and Development. He earned his B.S. in Botany and his M.S. in Plant Pathology at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. He then went on to obtain a second M.S. in Food Security and Sustainable Agriculture from the University of Exter, England. In his free time, he enjoys listening to music, exercising, and running track. 

Savannah Wolfe

M.S. Student
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Research interests: Nematology, lesion nematodes, Pratylenchus spp., soil microbiome interactions, metagenomics

Bio: Savannah is from Richardson, TX. They previously received an A.S. in Biology at Richland College in TX and a B.S. in Biology from the University of Central Florida. Before they joined the Esker Lab as a student, they were a a Research Assistant in the lab. Savannah's hobbies include creative writing, reading, creating digital art, and astrobiology. 

Mankanwal Goraya

Ph.D. Student
she/her

Research interests: Molecular diagnostics, microbial ecology, soil microbiome

Bio: Mankanwal is a dual-title Ph.D. student in Plant Pathology and Microbiome Sciences. She earned her B.S. in Agriculture at the Punjab Agricultural University, India, and M.S. from North Dakota State University, U.S. In the free time, she enjoys reading books, painting, listening to music, and enjoying the outdoors. 

Lauren Hendricks

M.S. Student
she/her

Research interests: Plant disease diagnostics, Fusarium wilt in strawberry, soil microbiome interactions

Bio: Lauren obtained her B.S. in Biology from Penn State. She worked for the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture for two years in the Plant Disease Diagnostic Clinic before coming to grad school. She enjoys reading, hiking, and playing with her cats.

Carson Karras

Undergraduate researcher

​Information about Carson coming soon! 

Macy Grove

Undergraduate researcher

​Information about Macy coming soon!

Kathryn Carruba

Undergraduate researcher

​Information about Kathryn coming soon!

Tommy Asbury

Undergraduate researcher

​Information about Tommy coming soon!

Esker Lab Alumni

Karen Luong

Former PhD Candidate, current Assistant Professor of Biology at Grove City College
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Dissertation: 
Combating the enemy: Understanding the population genetics of Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, and efficacy and feasability of current management strategies of white mold of soybeans in Pennsylvania. 

Mariah Kidd

Former M.S. Student
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Michelle Paukett

Former Ph.D. Candidate
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Dissertation:
Agricultural Sustainability in the Local Context


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Ethan Keitel

Undergraduate researcher

Mario Umaña

Visiting research scholar
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Bio: Mario is from Mazatenango, Guatemala. He graduated in 2023 from Unversidad EARTH where he studied agronomy. Mario completed a six-month research-intensive intership where he studied soilborne diseases of fiber hemp and Botrytis Bud Rot of CBD hemp in soil and culture, including Fusarium species. He also participated in biopesticide efficacy studies. Mario shared information on ongoing hemp research initiatives at Penn State at the CBD Hemp Field Day at the Penn State Rock Springs Research Farm. 

 Flàvia Gottschalk
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Visiting research scholar
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Bio: Flàvia is from Sao Paulo, Brazil. She studies agronomic engineering at the Universidade Estadual Paulista. While she was with the Esker Lab, Flàvia researched hemp diseases and studied biopesticide efficacy in hemp. She focused on identifying Fusarium species and Botrytis cinerea, which causes Botrytis Bud Rot in both hemp and cannabis species. 

Colin Wiest

Visiting research scholar
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Bio: Colin is from Lancaster, PA. He studied plant science at Penn State, and graduated with his B.S. in 2023. Colin worked on isolating and identifying Fusarium and Pythium species in soil. He currently works as a Best Management Practice Verification Coordinator with the Lancaster County Conservation District. 
Postdoctoral Scholars
Ananda Bandara
Mladen Cucak
Felipe Dalla Lana

Graduate Students
Ryan Spelman
Maíra Duffeck
Patrick Becker

Researchers
Brandon Wilt

Visiting Students
Shannon McAmis
Mario Umaña
Usman Ali
Diana Wairimu

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Laboratory Research Assistants and Undergraduate Researchers
Colin Wiest
Cameron Cedeno
Ryan Dunkelberger
Christopher Wambach
Anna Bohsali
Juan Nieto
Maura Seiss
Connor Campana
Isabel Mowrey
Jeremy Maggio
Jada Spady
Amanda Grube
Elli Tatsumi
Leticia Rovelo
​Christopher Miller