Megan McCaghey (she/her)
Assistant Professor, PhD
Megan's translational research focuses on soil-borne fungal pathogens that cause crop diseases. She is interested in improving disease management by understanding pathogen ecology, epidemiology, and understanding pathogen virulence factors. Research questions include improving chemical management and climate adaptation by understanding pathogen ecology and disease forecasting; integrating disease escape mechanisms and genetic resistance to improve soybean variety selection; and understanding Sclerotinia sclerotiorum virulence factors 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 a biology minor from Hendrix College.
Researchers
Kathleen Markham, Ph.D. (she/her)
Kat joined the lab in the Spring of 2023 as a researcher and is eager to get her hands dirty with soil-borne pathogens! She received her Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University at Buffalo, where she used the mouse model to understand the role of integrin receptors in cell-cell/cell-matrix interactions. Her long-standing interest in plant biology led her to join the 2016 class of Frontiers and Techniques in Plant Science at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. She later pursued her postdoctoral studies at the University of Minnesota, where she sought to understand how the plant circadian clock mediates inter-tissue crosstalk in the Arabidopsis leaf using spatial transcriptomics. She is thrilled to be joining the McCaghey Lab in their important work and hopes her work here will impact Minnesota growers. Outside of lab, Kat enjoys singing, drawing (badly), and exploring Minnesota with her husband and little one!
Peter Aspholm, BSc, (he/him)
Peter joined the lab in May of 2023, soon after graduating from Macalester College. He enjoys working on the various ongoing field projects during the beautiful summers of the Twin Cities. Peter is also interested in the interactions between pathogenic fungi and soil microbial communities, and the resulting impacts on carbon cycling and plant health. Previously, he has worked with small, dispersal-limited southern hemisphere arachnids, studying the effects of climatic and geologic history on their distribution and speciation. In his free time, Peter enjoys playing music with his friends, researching baseball statistics, hiking, biking, fishing and other outdoor activities.
Graduate Students
Hsuan-Fu Wang, MSc, (he/him)
Hsuan-Fu joined the lab as a Ph.D. student in the fall of 2022. His research is focused on characterizing aggressiveness determinants of Sclerotinia sclerotiorum using gene silencing strategies. As a master's student, he researched Fusarium spp. and worked to identify antifungal drugs to prevent tomato wilt and Panama disease. Outside of research, Hsuan Fu enjoys playing tennis and the flute, as well as painting.
Alisha Hershman, BSc, (she,her)
Alisha joined the lab as an MSc student in the fall of 2022. Alisha became interested in plant pathology after seeing the devastation from mountain pine beetle in the Black Hills of South Dakota, observing diseases while gardening with her mom, and by learning about Norman Borlaug’s work and the impact of disease on food insecurity during her BSc in horticulture. After spending 5 years working in industry doing gene editing through tissue culture on a variety of crops, she decided to pursue her master’s degree in plant pathology. She is especially interested in disease management strategies and in genetic resistance to plant diseases. Her current work focuses on understanding the interaction of soybean plant architecture, genetic resistance, and Sclerotinia sclerotiorum biology.
Undergraduate Students
Adynn Stedillie (they/them)
Adynn is a senior studying Plant Science. They are interested in learning about plant pathology and applying it to other projects in horticulture and sustainability, and hopes to use that knowledge in a career in sustainable agriculture after graduation. Outside of school, they love to cook and explore the fun things that the Twin Cities has to offer.
Beatriz dos Santos (she/her)
Beatriz is an exchange student from the Amazon region in Brazil. She has a BSc in forestry, loves house plants and gardening, and came to the US through the MAST International Program to learn more about plants from different biomes. Her interests in the McCaghey Lab are learning about new fields of research and examining the effects of pathogens on plants. Outside of work she likes to cook, spend time in the nature and do various handcrafts.
Linnea Johnston (they/them)
Linnea is a Junior studying Ecology, Evolution, and Animal Behavior as well as Microbiology with a minor in Plant Science. They are interested in the ecological impacts of plant diseases as well as the molecular processes behind plant pathogens. Outside of the lab, they enjoy making terrariums, tending to their many houseplants, and taking care of their pet crested gecko, Gizmo.
Past Lab Members
Eleanor Vadnais
Former undergraduate researcher (Summer 2022-Spring 2023)
Leslie Alcantar Mejia
Former undergraduate researcher (Summer 2022-Spring 2023)
Jane Fenske-Newbart
Former undergraduate researcher (Summer 2022-Fall 2023)
Cole Erickson
Former undergraduate researcher (Summer 2023-Fall 2023)
Emily Fish
Former undergraduate researcher (Summer 2023-Fall 2023)
New Year Party 2024: Former, Current, and Future Students and Staff
