Postdoctoral scholar joins Crandall Lab

The Department of Plant Pathology and Environmental Microbiology welcomes new postdoctoral scholar, Eric Larson, who joined the Crandall Lab last month.

Larson's research focuses on the impacts of using Trichoderma spp. for biocontrol against Phytophthoras and other oomycetes. His main project focuses on the metagenomic analysis of treated nursery plots.

He holds a bachelor's degree in botany from Oregon State University and a doctorate in plant pathology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

While pursuing his undergraduate degree at Oregon State University, Larson worked on the management of Phytophthora ramorum in nurseries across Washington, Oregon and California, spending time at NORS-DUC, the research facility and future collaborator for his postdoctoral research. The focus of his Ph.D. was Phytophthora infestans. Larson has worked on characterizing mefenoxam resistance in Midwest isolates of P. infestans and researched changes in virulence associated with the practice of sub-culturing and continued exposure to a partially resistant potato host.