Posted: April 1, 2017
Visiting Professor Brenda D. Wingfield brings mentorship and enhances University of Pretoria collaboration beginning April 1.
Image: Michael Houtz, Penn State
The Department of Plant Pathology and Environmental Microbiology (PPEM) welcomes Dr. Brenda D. Wingfield, a sabbatical visitor from the University of Pretoria's Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI).
Dr. Wingfield has come to offer mentorship and guidance over the next several months in PPEM's new alliance with the University of Pretoria and FABI. Additionally, she will work in David Geiser's lab on Fusarium projects and facilitate a weekly opportunity for faculty and students to discuss research projects.
At the University of Pretoria Dr. Wingfield is Professor in the Department of Genetics and the Genomics Research Institute (GMI) and serves as the South African Research Chairs Initiative (SARChI) Chair in Fungal Genomics. Most of Dr. Wingfield's work focuses on the evolutionary genetics and genomics of tree pathogenic fungi, particularly as it applies to the plantation forestry industries in South Africa and the world.
Dr. Wingfield has received many prestigious awards, including the Harry Oppenheimer Memorial Fellowship Award in 2016 from the Oppenheimer Memorial Trust in South Africa, which in part supports this visit. This award is given to recognize achievement across the natural and social sciences in South Africa.
In her scientific career, Dr. Wingfield has published over 350 scientific papers and supervised 47 honours theses, 52 masters theses, and 55 doctoral theses. As a result, she has populated the African continent and the world with outstanding scientists working in plant pathology and fungal biology.
Please join us in welcoming Brenda to our department!
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