PhD. Program: Epidemiology and Modeling - Plant Pathology Masters Program: Agricultural Meteorology - Universidade Federal de Vicosa, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Undergraduate degree: Agronomy - Universidade Federal de Vicosa, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Why did you choose Iowa State? I had a chance to work with Dr. X.B. Yang, a professor at Iowa State University, who is a recognized expert on Asian Soybean rust epidemiology.
Why did you choose the Plant Pathology department? Epidemiology of plant diseases is based on the interaction of the vertices in the fundamental disease triangle: the host, the climate and the pathogen. From my agronomy major, I built a good knowledge about the host and a little about pathogens. In the Master’s degree in meteorology, I had the chance to build the understanding of the climate and how it can influence both hosts and pathogens. Therefore, it is a natural consequence for me now to learn about the pathogen side of that story and so, complete a strong basis to work with epidemiology of plant diseases. What was the biggest adjustment you had to make? I am from a tropical country so getting around in the winter was the most difficult part of coming here.
What do you do for fun? Hang out with my family and friends. Practice sports (at Lied Rec Center during the winter and at any park during the summer). I do some fishing in many of the nice lakes around Ames.
Name your top five hangouts on or off campus:
- Cafeterias
- Parks Library
- Lied Recreation Center
- Beyer Hall Pool
- Parks in the summer
What is the best thing about being an Iowa State Student? There are great people at Iowa State University especially in our Department. I feel very welcome here. From the educational standpoint, I think university facilities (including labs, conference rooms and classrooms) are very nice and the faculty are extremely competent to maximize my learning experience. What research are you currently doing? I am currently doing epidemiological studies on the effects of solar radiation on Asian Soybean rust development.
