

Vamsi J Nalam, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Bioagricultural Sciences and Pest Management
Colorado State University
1177 Campus Delivery
Fort Collins, CO 80525
Office (970)-491-4189
Current Lab Members
Dr. Jinlong Han
Post-Doctoral Scholar
Jinlong completed his Ph.D. from North Carolina State University in Spring 2022. His current project involves developing a better understanding of plant-aphid interactions by focusing on salivary effectors. His second project involves evaluating if synthetic peptides are effective in controlling the spread of PVY.


Daniel Kunk
Ph.D. Student, Graduate Teaching Assistant
Email: Daniel.Kunk@colostate.edu
Daniel is originally from Washington D.C. After high school, he attended CSU in Fort Collins and graduated in 2020 with a BS in biology w/ a botany concentration. During his undergraduate he worked in labs at CSU and abroad, focusing on synthetic biology and plant-insect interactions. Currently he is pursuing a PhD in the CMB program. In his free time, he enjoys fishing and growing plants.
Rebecca Schmidt
M.S. Student, Graduate Teaching Assistant
Email: Rebecca.Schmidt@colostate.edu
Rebecca graduated from University of Washington with a B.S. in Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology. Previously she studied cold storage diseases and fungal pathogens of several apple and pear cultivars in central Washington. Her current focus on the role of PAD4 splice variants in plant defense to biotic factors..


Jennifer Rushton
M.S. Student, Graduate Research Assistant
Email: J.Rushton@colostate.edu
Jennifer's research will focus on developing to better study the infection process of potato necrotic viruses such as Potato Virus Y, Potato Mop Top Virus and Tobacco Rattle Virus
Previous Lab Members
Graduate Students
Shailesh Raj Acharya (MS, 2017 - 2020)
Stephen Wyka (PhD, 2018 - 2020): Computational Biologist, LifeMine Therapeutics
Patrick Selig (MS, 2015 - 2017): Wastewater/Water Operations Specialist, F&V Operations
Kumud Joshi (MS, 2015 - 2017): Ph.D. Candidate Bowling Green State University
Undergraduate Students
Patrick Murray
Delaney Young
Madison MacPhail
Joshua Baumgardner
Travis Issacs
Sarah Moh
Meredith Werling
Harish Bingi
Alyssa Hoffman
Randall McComb
Peter Saya II
Nicholas White
Philip Dinh