Science on Tap with Edith Lai

Disease is a pervasive and omnipresent process impacting humans, animals, and even plants! The fields of plant disease ecology and plant pathology are essential for solving problems in ecosystem conservation and food security. In this talk, I will share how plant diseases are studied from an evolutionary ecology perspective and managed in applied settings. My area of research focuses on powdery mildew, a common family fungal pathogens infecting thousands of plant species worldwide. In particular, I investigate how hyperparasites - a parasitic organism that infects other parasites - can be used as a disease control method.