Plant Disease and Fungi Experts to Present Research Findings at Meeting - Aug 06, 2013

APS President Michael J. Boehm, along with Program Committee Chair George Abawi and the Annual Meeting Board, have assembled a scientific program, including 24 special sessions and 48 technical sessions addressing today’s most relevant plant disease topics and critical issues, such as the emerging issues of mycotoxins in food safety, innovations in microbial forensics and plant biosecurity, and interactions between plants and human pathogens.

This event is expected to attract more 1,500 of the world’s top plant pathologists andmycologists representing a broad range of expertise working in academia, industry, and government from more than 35 different countries.

The 2013 APS Plenary Sessions and MSA Karling Lecture will reflect the breadth and depth of APS and MSA as two leading societies focused on plant health and fungi. The sessions will feature speakers that have an international perspective on the most recent challenges and changes in plant health and fungi and on the importance of these areas of study in a rapidly changing world.

The featured speakers include:

• Deirdre Ortiz, fellow at Kellogg and leader of research activities of the Global Snacks Group

• Simon Tripp, senior director of the Battelle Memorial Institute’s Technology Partnership Practice

• Mike Hofherr, associate vice president for distance education and eLearning at The Ohio State University

• Barbara Howlett, professor in the Department of Botany at the University of Melbourne in Australia

A Plenary Session, entitled "Minding the Gaps—Yielding Tomorrow’s Solutions," will address the many knowledge gaps that exist worldwide in technology, climate change, the food industry and food security, and health and wellness. This year’s MSA Karling Lecture is entitled "Evolution of Virulence in Fungal Pathogens of Plants."