Graduate Research Assistant
Cornell University
Department of Plant Pathology and Plant-Microbe Biology
Ithaca, NY 14853

August 2003-present: MS/PhD student; concentration: general plant pathology; Department of Plant Pathology and Plant-Microbe Biology, Cornell University

August 2000: B.S. Biology (with honors) and B.A. Economics (with honors),
University of Missouri-Columbia

Graduate Advisor: Gary C. Bergstrom

Research Focus     

Forage legumes, valued as livestock feed for their high nutritional value, are very important to the Northeast’s dairy economy. As perennials that form symbioses with nitrogen-fixing Rhizobium bacteria, forage legumes have lower fertilization and/or stand establishment costs than comparable feed sources such as perennial grasses and corn, and they serve as key rotational crops that help replenish the soil after multiple seasons of seedings to annual crops. However, pressure from pathogens can severely limit the yield and profitability of forage legumes. Soil-borne pathogens are particularly important; as causal agents of root and crown rots and of vascular wilts, they reduce the vigor of infected plants and lower overall stand density, requiring that stands be renewed frequently.

My research focuses on soil-borne fungal pathogens associated with stand decline of forage legumes. My efforts are focused on Phoma sclerotioides, a root- and crown-rotting pathogen associated with winterkill and poor spring regrowth of overwintering legumes and grasses, and on Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. loti and F. oxysporum f. sp. medicaginis, causal agents of Fusarium wilt of birds-foot trefoil and alfalfa, respectively. The goals of my work with P. sclerotioides are to (1) characterize the impact of the pathogen on alfalfa production in the Northeast, (2) identify the environmental conditions associated with disease development, (3) develop a controlled environment test for assaying germplasm for resistance, and (4) elucidate the extent to which current management practices are spreading the pathogen among fields within farms, among farms within a region, and among regions of the country. The goals of my work with F. oxysporum are to (1) characterize the distribution, aggressiveness, genetic relatedness, and host range of F. oxysporum f. sp. loti and (2) develop molecular diagnostics for F. oxysoporum f. sp. loti and f. sp. medicaginis.

Professional Experience    

2005–Graduate teaching assistant, BioG 103-104: Introductory Biology for Majors, Cornell University, Ithaca NY

2004–Graduate teaching assistant, BioG 109: Introductory Biology for Non-Majors, Cornell University, Ithaca NY

2003-present–Graduate research assistant, Department of Plant Pathology, Cornell University, Ithaca NY

2000-2002–Vegetable crops production and marketing extension, United States Peace Corps, Honduras, Central America

2000–Assistant teaching assistant, Bio 214: Plant Taxonomy, University of Missouri-Columbia

1998-2000–Research assistant, Division of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri-Columbia

Awards and Honors     

2006–Graduate student travel award, North American Alfalfa Improvement Association

2005–New York State IPM Competitive Grants Program: $4,900 awarded to G.C. Bergstrom and M.J. Wunsch for characterizing the host range of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. loti and developing molecular diagnostics for the pathogen

2003–Cornell University Graduate Fellowship

2001–United States Agency for International Development: $1,200 awarded to M.J. Wunsch for improving the post-harvest management of fresh-market vegetables produced by small-holder growers in El Cantoral, F.M., Honduras

2000–Outstanding Senior in the Biological Sciences, University of Missouri-Columbia

2000–Summa cum laude, College of Arts of Sciences, University of Missouri-Columbia

Elected and Appointed Offices     

2006-07–New student orientation committee, Department of Plant Pathology, Cornell University
2003-04–Graduate student colloquium committee, Department of Plant Pathology, Cornell University

Professional Societies and Working Groups      

American Phytopathological Society

Publications      

Abstracts:
Wunsch, M.J., Baker, A.H., Larsen, R.C., and Bergstrom, G.C. 2006. Distribution and prevalence of brown root rot of forage legumes in the northeastern United States. Phytopathology 96:S125.

Wunsch, M.J. and Bergstrom, G.C. 2006. Characterization of Fusarium oxysporum causing rapid wilt of birdsfoot trefoil in New York and Vermont. Phytopathology 96:S125