I joined the Horticulture Section faculty in 2022 as an associate professor of fruit crop physiology and climate adaptation. Previously, I was a Research Geneticist with the USDA-ARS Grape Genetics Unit, located at Cornell AgriTech in Geneva, New York.
My research program broadly works to understand how climate stresses impact plant growth and performance. I have always been intrigued with how traits are inherited, inspired by Mendel’s peas since high school. I also love trying to understand how biology works. Blended together, you get the genetics and physiology of climate adaptation. My research program focuses heavily on phenotyping and understanding the mechanism behind winter physiological processes of cold hardiness, dormancy, chilling requirement, and spring growth phenology. Key to the questions in this area are how rising winter temperatures impact the predictability of these traits and the impact on crop resilience over time. We use field sampling and lab assays coupled with transcriptomic and metabolomic approaches to answer these questions. In addition to winter research, the program is investigating how climate variation impacts fruit growth and quality. In grapevine we focus on how temperature and water impact fruit ripening predictability across the varied microclimates of New York State. In apple we are examining how growth rate and humidity interact to influence fruit cuticle disorders like russets and lenticel breakdown. Other research in the lab explores tree architecture, vascular traits, woody plant wound healing, graft physiology and clonal epigenetics.
My extension program goals are to provide research driven-tools and information to the New York fruit crop industry focusing on adapting crops to climate-change-induced environmental stress. I work collaboratively with other faculty members, Cornell Cooperative Extension, and stakeholders to identify climate induced disorders, develop mitigation methods, and improve the resilience and sustainability of fruit crop production through applied research.
I manage the Cornell grapevine cold hardiness monitoring program and associated website. My current research is focusing on understanding aspects of winter hardiness and spring deacclimation in apples and grapes to identify the rootstocks and scion combinations that provide the greatest resistance to early winter warming conditions.