Dear Colleagues and Friends,

I hope you are doing well, wherever you are, in this strange new world we are navigating together. In this time of disruption and change, we are thinking about you, and our wishes for your health and wellbeing are stronger than ever.

I am writing to provide an update from the Board of Directors (BOD). This winter, IS-MPMI put out a call for early career scientists to join the board. We received several impressive applications from around the globe. The BOD evaluated each candidate based on several criteria looking for excellence in scholarship and training, collaboration within our society, leadership at their institution, and outreach within their community.

I am pleased to announce that we selected two junior BOD members with outstanding portfolios. The new members are:

Patricia Baldrich, a post-doctoral scholar in Blake Meyer’s laboratory at the Danforth Plant Science Center at Washington University, in St. Louis, MO, United States

Charles Roussin-Léveillée, a graduate student in Peter Moffet’s laboratory at the University of Sherbrooke, in Quebec, Canada.

The junior BODs will participate in monthly board activities including congress meeting planning, fundraising, and communications to our members. They will also partner in new initiatives to support and cultivate diversity and inclusion within our IS-MPMI community.

You can read more about our junior BOD members below.

Congratulations to both!

Sincerely,

Mary Beth Mudgett

IS-MPMI President

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From Patricia Baldrich:

Dear IS-MPMI members,

I am a postdoctoral researcher in the lab of Blake Meyers, at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center (Saint Louis, Missouri, United States). As a scientist who has worked in three different continents, I have witnessed the ability that diverse perspectives have in creating great interdisciplinary and international collaborations, which I believe are the driving forces that move science forward. My passion for plant-microbe interactions and learning how organisms from different kingdoms communicate has guided my career journey. The focus of my research is on small RNAs and their use as communication tools in the interaction of plants and their associated microbes.

I am excited and grateful to be selected a junior member of the Board of Directors. It is a tremendous opportunity and honor to serve IS-MPMI, a diverse and international society that has supported plant-microbe interactions for the past 30 years. You can count on me to introduce and represent the viewpoint of early career researchers and provide innovative ideas and feedback to our meetings and communications.

From Charles Roussin-Léveillée:

Bonjour/Hi!

My name is Charles and I am thrilled to join the IS-MPMI BOD as a junior member. I am currently a first year PhD candidate in the research group of Peter Moffett at the Université de Sherbrooke, in Quebec, Canada. I investigate how microbes manipulate their host cells to induce an ideal living space in the apoplast. I discovered the field of plant-microbe interaction as an undergraduate and have travelled around the world to learn more about this topic through amazing internships.

Outside the lab, I am a passionate hiker who loves to participate in discussions about anthropology, diversity and inclusion, as well as science in general (anything that can help advance society and address inequalities). I look forward to participating in the advancement of the large and vibrant research society that is the IS-MPMI.