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Foreign Disease Weed Science Research Unit
Outreach event at the Great Frederick Fair
Historic Fort Detrick glasshouses
The Citizen Science Project at Fort Detrick, Maryland
Mission
The USDA, Agricultural Research Service, Foreign Disease-Weed Science Research Unit has two distinct missions united by a common relationship to plant pathology and the unit’s unique BSL-3 plant pathogen containment laboratory and greenhouse facilities.
The mission of the foreign disease program is to develop techniques for the rapid detection and identification of new and emerging crop pathogens, and to provide fundamental information on the biology and epidemiology of emerging pathogens for risk assessment and disease management strategies including the development of resistant plants.
The mission of the weed biological control program is to collect foreign pathogens overseas from weeds in their native habitat, and to evaluate, characterize and release the pathogens in the U.S. for biological control of introduced weeds, leading to improved, sustainable weed control practices in agricultural systems with reduced dependence on chemical herbicides.
Carter, Melissa
Crouch, Jo Anne
Fulcher, Michael
Greatens, Nicholas
Groben, Glen
Hancock, Dustin
Keller, Kelli
Koch Bach, Rachel
Lakatos, Charles
Little, Ridley
Luster, Douglas
- Doug
McCauslin, Sydney
Munyaneza, Celestin
Pedley, Kerry
Pfeufer, Emily
Puig, Alina
Rogers, Elizabeth
Sechler, Aaron
Sherman, Diana
Shishkoff, Nina
Slocum, Clint
Smallwood, Emily
Smith, Nicholas
Staley, Christian
Stanley, Olive
Stewart, Lucy
Stone, Christine
Stone, Andrew
Suresh, Lohini
Szarka, Desiree
Tancos, Matthew
Thomas, Jami
Thunes, Nicole
Wright, Amy