Megan's translational research focuses on soilborne fungal pathogens that cause crop diseases. She is interested in improving disease management and environmental sustainability through considerations of pathogen biology, ecology, and epidemiology. Research questions include teasing apart the interaction of cover crops and soil health, inclusive of pathogens; predicting the impact of climate change and abiotic stress on disease development; integrating disease escape mechanisms and genetic resistance to improve soybean variety selection; harnessing the pathobiome for biological control; and understanding Sclerotinia sclerotiorum virulence factors through -omics approaches and gene silencing to better manage Sclerotinia stem rot.

Megan earned her PhD in Plant Pathology, with a minor in Plant Breeding from the University of Wisconsin, Madison; her MSc in International Agricultural Development from University of California, Davis; and a BA in Environmental Studies (with distinction) with a Biology minor from Hendrix College. She completed a USDA Postdoctoral Fellowship and the University of California, Davis and a USAID RIFA Fellowship at the University of Pretoria in South Africa. 

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