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

 
Howard Judelson
Meet our Department Chair:

Dr. Howard Judelson is the chair of the department of Microbiology and Plant Pathology. His laboratory research focuses on the eukaryotic microbe Phytophthora infestans, which is responsible for the late blight diseases of tomato and potato His office can be located in Genomics 1234A and he can be reached by email at howard.judelson@ucr.edu.

Department News

Upcoming Events

UCR Campus
PLPA 250 Seminar- Rebecca Crust & Fabiola Pulido-Chavez
February 02, 2023 @ 12:00 pm
In person: Genomics Auditorium 1102A
The Department of Microbiology and Plant Pathology's weekly Plant Pathology 250 seminar series is presented this week by: Rebecca Crust, Plant Pathology Graduate Student, UC Riverside.  Seminar Title: "Ecological drivers of competition in rhizobia: Investigating agricultural systems for efficient nitrogen-fixing legume symbionts…
UCR Campus
PLPA 250 Seminar- Chaydon O'Fallon & Lida Halilovic
January 26, 2023 @ 12:00 pm
In person: Genomics Auditorium 1102A
The Department of Microbiology and Plant Pathology's weekly Plant Pathology 250 seminar series is presented this week by: Chaydon O'Fallon, Plant Pathology Graduate Student, UC Riverside.  Seminar Title: "An overview of the history, mode of action, and controversy of potassium phosphite for management of Oomycota diseases"…
UCR Campus
PLPA 250 Seminar- Moriaki Saito & Albert Nguyen
January 19, 2023 @ 12:00 pm
In person: Genomics Auditorium 1102A
The Department of Microbiology and Plant Pathology's weekly Plant Pathology 250 seminar series is presented this week by: Moriaki Saito, Plant Pathology Graduate Student, UC Riverside.  Seminar Title: "Liquid-like behavior of a plant Argonaute protein mediated by bacterial infection." Biography: Moriaki Saito is a 4th-year…
UCR Campus
PLPA 250 Seminar- Francisco Franco Navarro & Huaitong Wu
January 12, 2023 @ 12:00 pm
In person: Genomics Auditorium 1102A
The Department of Microbiology and Plant Pathology's weekly Plant Pathology 250 seminar series is presented this week by: Francisco Franco Navarro, Plant Pathology Graduate Student, UC Riverside.  Seminar Title: "TBA" & Huaitong Wu, Plant Pathology Graduate Student UC Riverside.  Seminar Title: "Sequence Motifs likely…
~$33M
In Grants and External Funding received from 2018-2020
21
Faculty Members
61
Department Graduate Students
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