​​Issue 3 •​ 2022​

It is with great pleasure that I send you my first update as IS-MPMI president. My heartfelt thanks to Mary Beth Mudgett (IS-MPMI immediate past president), who helped IS-MPMI overcome enormous challenges during the pandemic; MPMI Editor-in-Chief Jeanne Harris, who has overseen the transformation of MPMI into a Gold Open…

IS-MPMI members Dr. Greg Martin and Dr. Blake Meyers have earned membership in the prestigious U.S. National Academy of Sciences. Haesong Kim recently conducted an interview with Dr. Martin asking several questions about his research on the molecular basis of bacterial pathogenesis and the plant immune system, his mentors and…

Dr. Gitta Coaker has received the 2022 Noel T. Keen Award from The American Phytopathological Society for research excellence in molecular plant pathology. Her research group studies a variety of plant–pathogen interactions, with central research questions focusing on plant immune signaling and pathogen effector biology….

Dr. Kiran Mysore has received the 2022 Ruth Allen Award from The American Phytopathological Society. The award honors individuals who have made an outstanding, innovative research contribution that has changed, or has the potential to change, the direction of research in any field of plant pathology….

Dr. Steve Whitham has been named a 2022 Fellow of The American Phytopathological Society. This honor recognizes distinguished contributions to plant pathology in one or more of the following areas: original research, teaching, administration, professional and public service, and extension and outreach….

Dr. Xinnian Dong has received the 2022 Stephen Hales Prize from the American Society of Plant Biologists. It is a monetary award honoring the Reverend Stephen Hales for his pioneering work in plant biology and is given to an ASPB member who has served the science of plant biology in…

Earlier this year, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) announced the selection of 25 exceptional early-career scientists as 2022 Hanna Gray Fellows. This year’s cohort of Fellows includes plant–microbe trainee Dr. Shanice Webster….

In 2020, Dr. Giles Oldroyd was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society. Leading up to the induction ceremony this summer, Dr. Oldroyd posted a Royal Society blog reflecting on his life experience as an openly queer person….

Aphanomyces root rot of sugar beet, caused by Aphanomyces cochlioides, occurs in all major growing regions. In their recently published paper, Botkin et al. generated a de novo genome assembly for A. cochlioides using both long- and short-read technologies, resulting in a more contiguous assembly than for other Aphanomyces spp….