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Current Graduate Students

Jaden King, P.h.D. Candidate

Jaden grew up in the suburbs of Indianapolis, IN. She graduated from Purdue University in 2022 with a BS in Plant Science. During her undergrad studies she did research looking at the physiological and anatomical adaptations to low water availability in multiple different tree species. The summer before her senior year, she worked on a preservation crew at Rocky Mountain National Park. From these experiences, she found her passion for the natural world. Jaden’s PhD research will focus on tree physiology of loblolly pine and the environmental factors that drive brown spot needle blight to spread across Alabama.

BSNB Project Statement:
I am a PhD candidate working on the BSNB project, where my research focuses on understanding how environmental factors such as stand characteristics and weather influence disease dynamics. I also examine how loblolly pine anatomy and physiology both influence and respond to disease. Through this work, I have been especially impacted by opportunities to connect with landowners and industry partners and to see firsthand how my research can contribute to improving their livelihoods. Additionally, I have had the chance to collaborate with an incredible group of researchers on this project and to work alongside some of the leading professionals in forestry and forest health.

Temitope Folorunso, P.h.D Candidate

BSNB Project Statement:
As brown spot needle blight continues to threaten forest health, developing effective management strategies has become essential. My research aims to unravel the fungal community structure involved in both the disease and symptom severity, analyze the population structure of the dominant fungal species, and understand key attributes of disease severity. Additionally, I am utilizing RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) to investigate host-fungal interactions across various loblolly pine families and diverse landscapes. This approach allows me to characterize the fungal taxa recovered from each family and determine their influence on disease severity in planta. Working on this project has been a profoundly transformative experience. Technically, it has significantly sharpened my expertise in advanced genomic and transcriptomic analyses, equipping me with the bioinformatics skills necessary to decode complex biological data. Research wise, it has fundamentally shifted my perspective on plant pathology. By discovering multi-species complexity surrounding BSNB, I have learned to view forest diseases holistically, and merely as isolated host-pathogen interactions. Lastly though presentations, I have learnt on how to communicated to broader scientific community

Awards:

• Auburn University Outstanding Doctoral Student for Wildlife Sciences Department
• Auburn University Graduate Student Council Travel Fellowship
• MANRRS Gold Scholarship (2026)
• Harry Murphy Graduate Outstanding Student of the Year Award
• Society for the Study of Evolution Travel Grant (2025)
• James Floyd Goggans Endowed Fellowship in Forest Biology (2025)
• Tim and Kathy Pollard Scholarship Award (2025)
• John Deere Gradute Fellowship (2024)
• Kykenkee Fellowship (2024)
• Outstanding Graduate Senator (2024)
• American Farm Bureau Fellowship (2024)
• MANRRS Gold Scholarship (2024)
• Genetics Society Conference Attendance Grant (2023)
• Population Genetics Group, Genetics Society (2023)

Publications:

• Silva GAA, Folorunso TR, Miranda Paez A, Lamka G, Singh S, King J, Henderson L, Persyn M, Mwema T, Lindow T, Amiri N, Eckhardt LG, Narine L, Willoughby JR. (2026) Biology, detection, and management of Lecanosticta acicola, the causal agent of Brown Spot Needle Blight in pine forests. Journal of Forest pathology.
• Folorunso TR, Silva GAA, Girón ME, Lindow T, Persyn M, Eckhardt LG, Willoughby JR. (2025). Optimized protocol for culturing and extracting DNA from fungal isolates associated with brown spot needle blight. PLoS One. 20:e0337218.
• Folorunso TR, Sundaram M, Potnis N, Stevison L, Eckhardt LG, Willoughby JR. (2025). ). Quantifying the influence of genetic factors and life cycle strategies on plant pathogens virulence and disease severity. Journal of Plant Pathology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42161-025-02011-z
• Folorunso TR, Silva GAA, Olantinwo R.O, Eckhardt LG, Willoughby JR. Additive fungal community assembly, but not population structure, is associated with symptom severity in pine needle blight. New Phtologist, in review
• Silva GAA, Folorunso TR, Eckhardt LG, Willoughby JR. Quantitative comparison of fungal genome assembly strategies using short and long-reads from simulated and empirical sequencing data. Microbial genomics, in revision
• Folorunso TR, Lamka GF, Miranda Paez A, Silva GAA, Eckhardt LG, Simonis M, Willoughby JR. Ecological and evolutionary insights into fungal pathogens and their management across plant and animal kingdoms. Ecology and Evolution, in revision.
• Folorunso TR, Berigan L, Chen H, Eckhardt LG, Willoughby JR. (2025). Multi-omics integration for understanding and managing forest resilience. Forest and Global Change, in review.

Gabriel Silva, P.h.D Candidate

BSNB Project Statement:
Being the central theme of my PhD, the BSNB project has shaped and transformed my scientific life as one of the most formative and meaningful experiences this far. Through this work, I have contributed to research on important forest health issues affecting pine ecosystems, while developing a stronger foundation in genomics, bioinformatics, plant pathology, and disease ecology. The project has also helped me grow as a scientist by giving me opportunities to not only work across disciplines but also collaborate with many different researchers with distinct expertise, and think more critically about how molecular tools can be applied to real-world conservation and management challenges. Overall, this experience has enriched my research interests and solidified my goals of using genomics and bioinformatics in solving pressing issues in forest systems and human development.

Publications:

• Silva, G. A. A., et al. (2026). Quantitative comparison of fungal genome assembly strategies using short and long reads from simulated and empirical sequencing data. Submitted.
• Silva, G. A. A., et al. (2026). Biology, detection, and management of Lecanosticta acicola: Emerging challenges for the management of brown spot needle blight in pine forests. Forest Pathology. DOI: 10.1111/efp.70061
• Folorunso, T., Lamka, G., Paez, A., Silva, G. A. A., et al. (2026). Ecological and evolutionary insights into fungal pathogens and their management across plant and animal kingdoms. Accepted.
• Folorunso, T. R., Silva, G., et al. (2025). Optimized protocol for culturing and extracting DNA from fungal isolates associated with brown spot needle blight in pine trees. PLOS ONE, 20(11), e0337218. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0337218

Swati Singh, P.h.D Candidate

BSNB Project Statement:
My work in the Forest Health project includes integrating field observations with UAV multispectral imagery, LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging), and satellite remote sensing data to study brown spot needle blight in pine forests. Through this project, I have gained experience in remote sensing, geospatial analysis, and forest health assessment. The project has also strengthened my research, data analysis, and scientific communication skills in applied forest and ecosystem science.

Awards:

• Outstanding Doctoral Student Award, Auburn University Graduate School (2026)
• Drummond Company Endowed Fellowship Award - Outstanding PhD Student, Wildlife and Environment, Auburn University (2026)
• Presidential Graduate Opportunity Program (PGOP) Fellowship, Auburn University Graduate School (2025)
• James Henderson Dukes Memorial Fellowship, College of Forestry, Wildlife and Environment, Auburn University (2025)
• Creative Showcase Winner, Gogue Performing Arts Center Exhibition, Auburn University (2025)
• NASA - AGU Michael H. Freilich Student Visualization Competition - Grand Prize Winner, AGU Fall Meeting, Washington (2024)
• Merriweather Fellowship, Auburn University Graduate School (2024)
• James Floyd Goggans Endowed Fellowship, College of Forestry, Wildlife and Environment, Auburn University (2024)
• Best Poster Presentation Award, Auburn Research Student Symposium (2024)
• Best Poster Presentation Award, Southern Forestry GIS Conference (2023)

Publications:

• Singh S, Narine LL, Eckhardt LG. UAV-multispectral imaging and machine learning for Brown Spot Needle Blight severity assessment in southeastern US pine forests. Environmental Research Communications. 2025 Sep 1;7(9):091011.
• Singh S, Narine LL, Willoughby JR, Eckhardt LG. Remote sensing-based detection of brown spot needle blight: a comprehensive review, and future directions. PeerJ. 2025 May 22;13:e19407.
• Silva G, Folorunso TR, Paez AM, Lamka GF, Singh S, King J, Henderson L, Persyn M, Mwema T, Lindow T, Amiri N. Biology, Detection, and Management of Lecanosticta acicola: Emerging Challenges for the Management of Brown Spot Needle Blight in Pine Forests. Forest Pathology. 2026 Feb;56(1):e70061.

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