Research Labs
Research Labs
Labs
Agroecosystems Entomology Lab
The Agroecosystems Entomology lab pursues research questions addressing the ecology and management of agricultural pests with an emphasis on practical applications for Integrated Pest Management (IPM) in field crops. Additionally, the lab participates in a trapping network to provide timely information about crop pest populations for our stakeholders.
Arthropod Vectors of Plant Pathogens Lab
The Arthropod Vectors of Plant Pathogens (AVPP) Lab, led by Dr. Shaonpius Mondal, researches various plant viruses and their arthropod vectors, specifically aphids and mites in Nebraska and beyond. Currently the lab is focussing on wheat and barley crop, but soybean and corn are of future consideration. Major molecular studies are conducted in ENTO 302. The transmission works are conducted at ENTO 107. The lab is raising two genetically different types of wheat curl mites in 172 Plant Sciences Hall. Furthermore, the lab collaborates with USDA-ARS at Lincoln, NE, University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) at Omaha and Nebraska Center for Virology.
Bee Lab
The Bee Lab, led by Dr. Judy Wu-Smart, focuses on providing beekeepers, landowners, and homeowners with the scientific knowledge needed to support and sustain healthy bee populations. The lab’s research examines a wide range of stressors, from environmental challenges to biotic factors such as pests and pathogens, that impact both managed and wild bee populations. Students in the lab work to better understand these factors and develop solutions to address the issues threatening bee health.
Bingham Research Lab
The Bingham Lab, led by Dr. Georgina Bingham, focuses on stored product pests, food security and food systems.
Labs 2
Boehm lab
Research in the Boehm lab focuses on biosensing & biocontrol and turfgrass pathology.
Civic Entomology Lab
The Civic Entomology Lab, led by Dr. Louise Lynch-O'Brien, builds community-focused collaborative experiences between people representing diverse backgrounds, especially those often underrepresented in the sciences, and the Department of Entomology to help achieve positive human, animal and environmental health outcomes. Research focuses on educational, behavioral and health outcomes of One Health Extension programming.
Funnell-Harris Lab
The Funnell-Harris lab is focused on describing interactions of fungal pathogens with specific sorghum and wheat host genotypes, especially those with altered lignin, starch, and pigment compositions and concentrations.
Fungal Ecology Lab
Research in the Fungal Ecology lab is focused on understanding the drivers of evolution and diversity in populations of fungal plant pathogens across ecosystems in Nebraska, the region, and at the global scale.
Labs 3
Harveson Lab
Research in the Harveson lab focuses on root rot diseases of sugar beets, bacterial diseases of dry beans, and sunflower diseases.
Hernan Garcia-Ruiz Lab
Research in our lab is focused on molecular mechanisms of antiviral immunity in plants and pathogenicity in plant viruses.
Jackson-Ziems Lab
The Jackson-Ziems lab is focused on corn and sorghum diseases and commonly works with industry partners to evaluate the efficacy of foliar, in-furrow, and seed treatment products to manage fungi, bacteria, and nematodes.
Kim Lab
The Kim Lab investigates the interactions between crop-fungal pathogens by integrating genetics, molecular biology, and bioinformatics to enhance our understanding of these complex relationships.
Labs 4
Mangel Extension plant pathology program
Dr. Mangel's Extension plant pathology program focuses on addressing field crop pathogens, particularly soybean diseases like Sclerotinia stem rot and Phytophthora root and stem rot, through applied, field-based research aimed at developing practical disease management strategies to reduce yield losses and enhance crop resilience.
Mitra Lab
The Mitra lab studies disease resistance in transgenic and gene-edited crops through utilization of novel genes, pathways, and RNA interference for disease resistance.
Plant-Insect Interactions Lab
The Plant-Insect Interactions Laboratory, led by Dr. Joe Louis, focuses its research on identifying the key components/genes/signaling mechanisms that are involved in modulating plant defenses upon insect herbivory and to understand the mechanisms by which insect salivary proteins/effectors alter the plant defense responses.
Powers Nematology Lab
The Powers Nematology Laboratory focuses on diversity, diagnostics, systematics and interactions that contribute to soil health.
Labs 5
Rojas Lab
Our research focuses on understanding the molecular and cellular interactions between plants and plant pathogenic bacteria and developing sustainable strategies to control plant diseases.
Sigmon Lab
Research in the Sigmon lab focuses on a variety of different projects involving molecular biology, genetics, development and/or phenotyping in both maize and sorghum, and to provide research opportunities for undergraduate students.
Tatineni Lab
The lab explores virus-virus, virus-host, and virus-vector interactions of economically important wheat streak mosaic virus (WSMV), Triticum mosaic virus (TriMV), and High Plains wheat mosaic virus (HPWMoV).
Van Etten Lab
The Van Etten laboratory investigates a wide range of topics associated with the molecular biology, biochemistry, genetics, bioinformatics, and ecology of Chloroviruses--large viruses that infect certain unicellular, eukaryotic chlorella-like green algae.
Labs 6
Western Nebraska Crop IPM Entomology Lab
The Western Nebraska Crop IPM Entomology Lab, Led by Dr. Pin-Chu Lai, focuses on research in applied ecology, arthropod pest biology and management in major crops in the central high plains including sugar beets, dry beans, winter wheat, sunflower, corn, and alfalfa.
Wilson Lab
Work in the Wilson lab seeks to understand the cellular, molecular and biochemical underpinnings of host infection by the blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae.
Wegulo Lab
The Wegulo lab group conducts research on the epidemiology and management of wheat diseases.
Zeng lab
The Zeng lab focuses on the roles of posttranslational modifications, especially ubiquitination, in regulating plant-bacteria interactions, with the aim of elucidating and eventually manipulating for crop improvement the key molecular mechanisms that plants use to defend against various biotic stresses.