Dr. Sydney Everhart

Biography

Sydney Everhart is a professor and chairperson in the Department of Plant, Soil Microbial Sciences at Michigan State University. She holds a Ph.D. in Plant Pathology from the University of Georgia and has previously served as an associate professor and head of the Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture at the University of Connecticut. Prior to her position at UConn, she was a faculty member at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. Dr. Everhart is a national leader in the application of molecular tools to elucidate the biology and epidemiology of fungal plant pathogens in agricultural systems. Her research focuses on diseases affecting crops such as broccoli and Christmas trees. Over the past five years, she has co-authored more than 20 papers in high-impact journals in the field of plant pathology and has been a principal investigator or co-principal investigator on grants totaling over $7 million. Her long-term research goal is to develop a better understanding of the biology of fungal plant pathogens to aid in disease management and the emergence of phenotypic traits related to fungicide resistance. Recent studies conducted by Dr. Everhart involve significant fungal plant pathogens such as Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, Rhizoctonia zeae, and Alternaria brassicicola, which impact economically important crops in the United States. Additionally, she has extensive experience in graduate education, having taught graduate-level courses and advised multiple graduate students and postdoctoral scholars. As chairperson, she leads one of the nation's most comprehensive plant science departments, which comprises 70 faculty members, 100 graduate students, and 200 undergraduate certificate students.

Research Interests