Jean Ristaino's Lab NC State

I retired from NC State December 31, 2025. I’m posting some photos from a great evening celebrating my career. My slide show of vintage Jean pictures was a hit

I was interviewed by Poppy O Toole a British chef and cookbook author dubbed ‘The Potato Queen’ on the BBC Food Programme this summer. She interviewed an Andean borne London chef, a potato grower, a plant breeder from the International Potato Center (CIP) and me. I talked about late blight research and ideas for future work. My interview starts at 24.10 minutes.

BBC Audio | The Food Programme | Potatoes with Poppy O'Toole Chef and queen of potatoes Poppy O'Toole explores the world of her favourite ingredient.

I was interviewed by Poppy O Toole a British chef and cookbook author dubbed ‘The Potato Queen’ on the BBC Food Programme this summer. She interviewed an Andean borne London chef, a potato grower, a plant breeder from the International Potato Center (CIP) and me. I talked about late blight research and ideas for future work. My interview starts at 24.10 minutes.

BBC Audio | The Food Programme | Potatoes with Poppy O'Toole Chef and queen of potatoes Poppy O'Toole explores the world of her favourite ingredient.

Great visit to the RBG Sydney plant clinic to meet Sarah Dunstan and Brett Summerall and see their Phytophthora leachate trapping system . All the new plants planted in the gardens are screened first before planting for Phytophthora. P. cinnamoni is the most common species they find

Enjoyed a lab lunch today to celebrate the successful PhD defenses of Amanda Mainello-Land and Inga Meadows. I gave everyone a copy of my book ‘Pioneering Women in Plant Pathology’. They surprised me with a beautiful canvas print of potato late blight done by Australian botanical illustrator Margaret Senior. Thank you so much. It will hang in a place of honor in my home

In honor of and , I am delighted to have two incredible trailblazing women in ag on podcast this month.

First up, a true pioneer in plant health —Jean Ristaino. Dr. Ristaino has revolutionized disease surveillance and genomic research, shaping how we combat crop threats worldwide. In this episode, she shares her journey as a leading scientist in a traditionally male-dominated field, the game-changing technologies she’s utilizing, and the global impact of her research.

She also reflects on the power of mentorship and collaboration in driving innovation and inspiring the next generation of women in STEM. Don’t miss



listen now

Women Making History in Ag: Dr. Jean Ristaino on Plant Health and Genomics Podcast Episode · AgTech360 · 03/06/2025 · 15m

Congratulations to Dr Inga Meadows . Inga successfully defended her PhD degree Friday . Inga worked full time as an extension specialist in Wayneville NC at the Mountain Crops Research and Extension Center while doing her PhD work. She surveyed 32 floriculture crop greenhouses in NC and identified 6 Phytophthora species. P nicotianae was the most frequent. She genotyped strains and tracked spread and fungicide sensitivity . We are proud of her

https://vimeo.com/1054600819?share=copy

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Congratulations to Dr. Amanda Mainello-Land. Amanda successfully defended her PhD thesis research this afternoon in the Department of Plant Pathology in The Plant Science building at NC State. “ Exploring genetic relationships among Phytophthora ramorum lineages through novel detection tools, phylogenetics and evolutionary analyses”. Well done Amanda. Thanks to USDA APHIS, NSF AgBioFews and the CALS for funding her work .

Merry Christmas from the Ristaino Lab.We made more cute plant pathology themed ornaments

Tonight I will give a public lecture at the Royal Irish Academy

Royal Irish Academy on LinkedIn: #heritageweek2024 There are limited tickets left for 'Tracking a Plant Killer: Historical and Scientific Reflections on the Irish Famine Pathogen', a dynamic public lecture that…

Visited Teagasc at Oak Park Carlow this week to see Steven Kildea’s late blight fungicide trials . The unsprayed plots were dead while many of the fungicide mixture plots looked great. The stack gene varieties also looked great. Without fungicides it would be difficult to grow potatoes in Ireland