Gary Vallad is a professor of plant pathology with the University of Florida. Located at the Gulf Coast Research and Education Center, Dr. Vallad’s research and Extension program focuses on the management of diseases affecting Florida’s $1 billion vegetable industry.
J. B. (Jeff) Jones studies bacterial plant pathogens, and much of his research focuses on the ecology and host–parasite interaction of bacterial plant pathogens. In collaboration with other researchers, Jones has focused on bacterial spot disease of pepper and tomato caused by several Xanthomonas species. A second area of focus has been to identify resistance genes in tomato and pepper against the xanthomonads, and a third area has been to identify alternative control strategies to copper bactericides, as a result of the prevalence of copper resistance in the bacterial spot pathogens.
Sally Miller is a distinguished professor of food, agricultural, and environmental sciences in plant pathology at The Ohio State University in Wooster. She received a BSc in biology from The Ohio State University and MS and PhD degrees in plant pathology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Dr. Miller’s research and Extension efforts are focused on the development and promotion of sustainable disease management strategies for conventional and organic vegetable crops in open field and protected production systems. She has been active in long-term international agricultural development projects focused on food security and safety through integrated pest management in South and Southeast Asia, Ukraine, West and East Africa, and Central America. Dr. Miller is a Fellow of The American Phytopathological Society and served as president in 2015–2016.
