Dr. Jorge Ibarra Caballero — Lab Manager & Research Associate

Jorge received his Ph.D. in Plant Pathology from Colorado State University, focusing on transcriptomics and proteomics of Pythium iwayamai, the cause of snow blight in turfgrass, as well as population genetics of Geosmithia morbida, the pathogen behind thousand cankers disease of walnut. He currently leads and contributes to numerous projects in the Stewart Lab spanning genomics and transcriptomics of plant pathogens including Raffaelea lauricola (laurel wilt disease), Phellinus noxius (brown root rot in tropical trees), Cytospora leucostoma (peach canker), and Armillaria species (root rot). He also uses metagenomics to investigate microbial communities in potato fields affected by pathogens, and collaborates with the USDA Forest Service on projects including development of a loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) protocol for detecting Cronartium ribicola, the cause of white pine blister rust.