Lab Members

McCaghey lab members posing in a groups inside of the UMN Conservatory

Megan McCaghey (she/her)

Megan McCaghey standing by a sunflower field

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.

[email protected]

Researchers

Kathleen Markham, Ph.D. (she/her)

Kathleen markham

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 ones! 

[email protected]

Peter Aspholm, BSc, (he/him)

peter

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. 

[email protected]

Suma Sreekanta, Ph.d. (she/her)

Suma
Suma joined the McCaghey Lab in the fall of 2024 as a Researcher. She holds a PhD in plant biology from the University of Minnesota, where she studied defense signaling in plants. Her research focused on the functional characterization of calcium signaling genes and receptor-like kinases in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, investigating their roles in defense signaling against the hemibiotrophic pathogen Pseudomonas syringae. During her post-doctoral studies at the University of Minnesota, she explored the genetic mechanisms controlling shoot architecture traits in soybeans. More recently, she has been involved in developing a pipeline to accurately phenotype shoot architecture traits using a combination of imaging and high-throughput technologies. She looks forward to learning from and collaborating with her new team to further enhance her knowledge and contribute to the lab’s ongoing research. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with her family, Minnesota summers, and loves cooking vegetarian food.
 

[email protected]

Graduate Students

Hsuan-Fu Wang, MSc, (he/him)

Graduate student, Hsuan Fu

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.

Hunter Kluegel, BSc

hunter

Hunter joined the lab as an MS student in August of 2024 after graduating with a BS in Plant Science from the University of Minnesota. His research is focused on the impacts of cover crops on disease incidence and severity of Sclerotinia sclerotiorum and Rhizoctonia solani in soybean and dry bean systems. Before beginning his MS, he worked as a field technician in a Small Grains Pathology Lab that focused on screening nurseries to determine resistance to Fusarium Head Blight in barley, Bacterial Leaf Streak in wheat, and Smut in oats. Outside of his research, Hunter enjoys practicing hot yoga, singing, and exploring the local art scene of the Twin Cities.

 

Alisha Mildenberger, BSc, (she,her)

Alisha Hershman, outside leaning on railing

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.

Jasper Tao, BSc, (she/her)

Jasper Tao

Jasper joined the lab in August of 2024 after graduating with a BS in Agricultural Plant & Soil Science from California State University Monterey Bay. She is fascinated by the complex interactions between plant pathogens, their potential hosts, and the surrounding microbiomes. Her aim is to increase the accessibility of applied plant pathology research through teaching or extension. Jasper has previously conducted research on oomycete and fungal soilborne pathogens, including investigating the effects of anaerobic soil disinfestation on Allium white rot and evaluating the potential of soilborne Streptomyces isolates on lettuce growth and inhibition of plant pathogenic Pythium species. She is thrilled to be working on a project studying and evaluating biological control agents for Sclerotinia sclerotiorumn while pursuing her MSc. 

Undergraduate Students

Linnea Johnston (they/them)

Linnea Johnston

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.

Hazel Fritz (she/her)

Hazel

Hazel Fritz is currently a senior in the plant science major with a minor in horticulture and nutrition. She is interested in how plant pathology impacts these fields and looks forward to gain additional lab skills in molecular biology. Outside of the lab, she enjoys running and baking.

Elin Bowman (she/her)

Elin Bowman

Elin is an undergraduate student exploring as many fields of study as she can! Her love of gardening, plants and microorganisms makes plant pathology all the more interesting! Elin is interested in all that plant pathology has to offer and she hopes to learn as much as she can while she's here. Outside of that she loves to zone out in the gym, giggle while bouldering and cook for her family, who are always willing to try experimental dishes. She also has a passion for outdoor adventures, and wacky crafting. 

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)

Beatriz Dos Santos

Former Undergraduate Researcher

Carah Anteck

Former REEU student (Summer 2024)

Alvaro Diogo

Former MAST student (Summer 2024) 

Flannery Dahlberg

Seasonal employee (Summer 2024)

New Year Party 2024: Former, Current, and Future Students and Staff

group christmas party 2023