American Phytopathological Society
Potomac Division

The Candidates for Secretary-Treasurer

Dr. Nina Shishkoff, candidate for Secretary-Treasurer of the Potomac Division of APS.

Nina Shishkoff got a bachelor's degree in botany from the University of Michigan and a PhD in mycology from Cornell University studying how root structure affects infection by fungi. She then did post-docs at UC Davis (on corky root of tomato) and FDWSRU/ARS/USDA (on the biological control of weeds) at Fort Detrick MD before working on cucurbit diseases at Cornell's Long Island Horticultural Research and Extension Center in Riverhead, NY. Currently she is back at the FDWSRU working on "sudden oak death" caused by Phytophthora ramorum.

Dr. Dan Roberts, candidate for Secretary-Treasurer of the Potomac Division of APS.

Daniel P. Roberts is a Research Microbiologist in the Sustainable Agricultural Systems Laboratory at the USDA-ARS Beltsville Agricultural Research Center in Beltsville, Maryland. He received his B.A. degree in Biology from the University of Delaware in 1981 and his Ph. D. in Plant Pathology from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in 1985. His research interests include biological control of soilborne pathogens and molecular plant-microbe interactions. He has authored or coauthored 66 peer-reviewed publications and book chapters in these research areas. Roberts currently serves as the Secretary-Treasurer of the Potomac Division and as the Bacteriology Representative for APS to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, National Organizing Committee for the 2005 Congress of the International Union of Microbiological Societies. Roberts also serves on the Editorial Board for the journal Biological Control.

The Candidate for Vice President

Dr. Kathryne L. Everts, candidate for Vice President of the Potomac Division of APS.

Kathryne L. Everts is an associate professor and extension plant pathologist in the Department of Natural Resource Science and Landscape Architecture at University of Maryland (UM), College Park, MD. She shares a joint appointment with the University of Delaware (UD) and she advises and serves on committees of graduate students at both UM and UD. She received her B.S. (with distinction) in 1981 and M.S. in 1984 from Colorado State University, and her Ph.D. in 1989 from Michigan State University. Her research interests include the epidemiology of white mold (Sclerotinia sclerotiorum) in lima bean, spinach white rust (Albugo occidentalis), and Fusarium wilt of watermelon (Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. niveum). Her research examines pathogen population response to changes in production practices, such as the increasing use of cover crops or biofungicides. Her extension programs focus on applied research to develop integrated vegetable disease management practices incorporating cultural, chemical, biological, and host resistance methods and identifying effective disease management alternatives to fungicides at risk due to the Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA) review process. Her extension programs also have supported several national priorities and programs, such as increasing the total U.S. vegetable crop acreage under IPM and by providing research information on fungicide and biofungicides for the IR-4 program. Everts has served APS as chairperson of the Host Resistance and Women in Plant Pathology committees and as a member of the Plant Disease Losses and Integrated Pest Management committees. Everts is currently an editor for the Vegetable Section of the Fungicide and Nematicide Tests. She has served on several regional and national USDA-CSREES grant review panels. Her honors include membership in Phi Beta Kappa, Sigma Xi, and Gamma Sigma Delta.