Fernanda Iruegas Bocardo

My lab studies the evolutionary history of bacterial plant pathogens and how it influences their emergence and re-emergence in a region. We use population biology and genomic epidemiology frameworks to analyze the vast information contained in their genomic sequences. The goals from this research include i) the identification of emerging pathogens and their relevant variants, ii) to increase our understanding of their virulence mechanisms, iii) the identification of relevant routes or mechanisms of dispersal and iv) the development of fine-scale diagnostic tools that support their early detection.