Elisha Allan-Perkins

My research focuses on how organic and conventional turf management affect soil microbe and nematode communities with an emphasis on how these practices may influence disease management.

I’m a Ph.D. candidate in the Plant Biology program at UMass Amherst studying plant pathology, or plant diseases. I have a Master’s degree from the University of New Hampshire in Zoology. My M.S. thesis work was on the use of DNA barcodes to identify species of copepods in New England lakes. I have also worked in a mammal population genetics laboratory and a marine biology laboratory, before entering UMass to study plant pathology. My research interests include studying plant diseases on diverse crops, nematology, soil ecosystems, and biological disease control. My daily research activities include field work, microscopy, taxonomy, and molecular biology. I am a writer and editor for the That’s Life Science blog.