Message from the Chair:

Welcome to the Department of Microbiology and Plant Pathology at the University of California, Riverside! Our departmental goals are to conduct research on the basic biology of plant pathogens and microbes, to develop methods for the management of microbial diseases of plants and other organisms, to provide a quality education to our students; and be a repository of expert advice on plant diseases and microbiology to the citizens of California and the world.

Our department has its roots in the Citrus Experiment Station, which was established in Riverside in 1905. Although the department has maintained strength in the study of diseases of citrus, the scope has expanded to include concentrations in numerous other plant diseases as well as many sub-disciplines of microbiology. Represented among our faculty are experts in the fields of genetics, genomics, bioinformatics, molecular biology, cell biology, biochemistry, ecology, evolutionary biology, and traditional aspects of disease control. Many faculty members have close interactions with industry representatives, advisors, and policy makers throughout California and worldwide. This is critical to applied research for identifying emerging and common plant diseases and microbes, and developing innovative management programs based on ecological and epidemiological approaches. 

On the following pages, I invite you to explore the research programs of our world-class faculty, our critical work in cooperative extension, and the graduate and undergraduate programs that we sponsor. - Katherine Borkovich

Katherine Borkovich
Meet our Department Chair:

Dr. Katherine Borkovich is the chair of the department of Microbiology and Plant Pathology. Her laboratory research focuses on how multicellular (filamentous) fungi sense their environment and then fine-tune their gene expression to allow exploitation of different nutritional sources or to infect plant hosts. Her office can be located in Genomics 1234B and she can be reached by email at katherine.borkovich@ucr.edu.

Upcoming Events

UCR Campus
MCBL 250 Seminar - Noralhuda Ismail & Mark Swenson
May 22, 2024 @ 12:00 pm
Zoom
The Department of Microbiology and Plant Pathology's weekly Plant Pathology 250 seminar series is presented this week by: Noralhuda Ismail, Microbiology Graduate Student (Ph.D.), UC Riverside  Seminar Title: "Characterization of a M36 metalloprotease from Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, the Frog-Killing Chytrid" Biography…
UCR Campus
MCBL 250 Seminar - Melissa Gomez & Jorge Pastrana
May 15, 2024 @ 12:00 pm
Zoom
The Department of Microbiology and Plant Pathology's weekly Plant Pathology 250 seminar series is presented this week by: Melissa Gomez, Microbiology Graduate Student (M.S.), UC Riverside Seminar Title: "Genome Engineering With RNA-Integrating Targetable Endonucleases to Enhance Transgene Insertion in Mammalian Cells" Biography…
UCR Campus
MCBL 250 Seminar - Siyi Ge & Talyssa Topacio
May 05, 2024 @ 12:00 pm
Zoom
The Department of Microbiology and Plant Pathology's weekly Plant Pathology 250 seminar series is presented this week by: Siyi Ge, Microbiology Graduate Student (PhD), UC Riverside  Seminar Title: "AI-1 signals affect gut microbiota through modulating secondary bile acid synthesis" Biography: I am a fifth-year PhD…
UCR Campus
MCBL 250 Seminar - Basubi Binti Zhilik & Esbeiry Cordova-Ortiz
May 01, 2024 @ 12:00 pm
Zoom
The Department of Microbiology and Plant Pathology's weekly Plant Pathology 250 seminar series is presented this week by: Basubi Binti Zhilik, Microbiology Graduate Student (PhD), UC Riverside  Seminar Title: "Influence of Prescribed Burn Season on Soil Microbial Abundance, Richness, and Resilience in a Mixed Conifer Forest…
~$33M
In Grants and External Funding received from 2018-2020
21
Faculty Members
61
Department Graduate Students
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