The best is yet to come for you!
Ms. Barbara Blackmon
Barbara was our lab manager from the day we opened the lab in 2019 until she retired in 2021. Barbara was instrumental in getting our lab up and running, and running through the COVID19 pandemic. Barbara embraced new technologies, patiently trained new students in the lab, and was always learning something! She is enjoying time with her husband Bruce, her kids, and grandkids traveling in the RV!
Barbara was our lab manager from the day we opened the lab in 2019 until she retired in 2021. Barbara was instrumental in getting our lab up and running, and running through the COVID19 pandemic. Barbara embraced new technologies, patiently trained new students in the lab, and was always learning something! She is enjoying time with her husband Bruce, her kids, and grandkids traveling in the RV!
Jordan Withycombe
Jordan was an undergraduate researcher in the lab in 2019, and then joined us as a research specialist for a year. She worked on our NCPN project and developed protocols for virus diagnostics, among many other things. Jordan was an amazing person to have in the lab, and was always willing to lend a hand. Jordan started a graduate program at Colorado State University in 2021, working on viruses of hemp! We are proud of her and can't wait to follow her accomplishments. |
Walker Spivey
Walker was an undergraduate researcher in the lab from 2019 until he graduated with a B.S. in PES from Clemson in 2021. He worked on diversity of cotton leafroll dwarf virus in South Carolina. Walker recently completed his M.S. in Plant and Environmental Sciences in Dr. Sruthi Narayanan's crop physiology lab, and will now pursue a PhD in PES at the PeeDee REC with Dr. Trevor Rife and Dr. Jenna Herschberger. |
Zach Williamson
Zach worked as an undergraduate researcher on several projects on GRBV, CLRDV, and peach viruses. While in the lab, Zach was best known for his cool T-shirts and his love of Clyde's Restaurant in Cleveland GA. Zach is now pursuing his PhD on human poxviruses at the University of Arizona. |
Fabian Rodriguez Bonilla
Fabian was the first M.S. student to graduate from the lab! He earned his M.S. in PES in spring 2022, in which his thesis was focused on pollen-borne viruses of peach in wild Prunus spp. He left us for colder pastures and is now a lab manager at the University of Wisconsin Madison. |
Jacob Seiter
Jake worked as an undergraduate researcher with us for two years. He did great work on viruses of grapevine and cotton! He was also known for leaving plastic babies in weird places around the lab. He is now an NSF Graduate Research Fellow and pursuing his PhD at North Carolina State University with Dr. Dorith Rotenberg and Dr. Anna Whitfield! |
Yifan Tang, M.S.
Yifan completed her M.S. in PES and was co-mentored by Libby and Dr. Eric McLamore in Ag Sciences. Her M.S. research focused on applying biosensor technology to plant/human pathogen detection areas, specifically developing an aptamer-based biosensor for apple stem pitting virus detection. |