Jillian is a Leach Lab alumna. She currently serves the College of Agricultural Sciences as Director of Strategic Partnerships but continues to conduct small scale research in the Leach Lab. She is interested in the evolution of pathogenicity in Xanthomonas species and has expertise in the development of molecular diagnostic tools for important and emerging plant pathogens. Her favorite agricultural systems are rice and corn. She has a B.S. in Biology from the State University of New York, College at Fredonia, then received her M.S. in Plant Pathology and a PhD in Cell and Molecular Biology at Colorado State University. Follow her on Twitter @jillianmlang or Google Scholar.