Congratulations to Puyallup REC graduates Lucy Rollins and Katie McKeever for both of their papers being published in the most recent edition of Plant Disease.
Lucy graduated in 2014 with her Master’s in plant pathology and since then has been working as the part-time volunteer coordinator in the Plant Pathology Department. Her paper, “Comparison of Five Detection and Quantification Methods for Phytophthora ramorum in Stream and Irrigation Water,” delved into the different ways to detect, and determine if there is a way to count, or quantify the amount of P. Ramorum—a deadly pathogen responsible for causing Sudden Oak Death—in water.
Lucy wrote a second paper, “A New Method to Apply Phytophthora ramorum Inoculum to Hosts that Simulates Overhead Irrigation,” which was published in Plant Health Progress. Her research will help determine the risk of using P. Ramorum infested water for irrigation of nursery stock and landscapes.
Katie graduated with her Master of Science degree in 2010 and now works as a research assistant in our Plant Pathology Department while she pursues her PhD. Her research involved molecular, biological and histological characterization of the colonization and sporulation Phytophthora ramorum on Douglas-fir tissues. Katie’s paper, “A Survey of Phytophthora spp. Associated with Abies in U.S. Christmas Tree Farms,” evaluates the interactions between root-rotting Phytophthora and Abies with focus on assessing variations in tolerances of the various Abies hosts.
From everyone at WSU Puyallup, congratulations Lucy and Katie!