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Duties and Responsibilities
This is a 12-month, tenure-accruing position that is 70% research (Florida Agricultural Experiment Station) and 30% teaching (College of Agricultural and Life Sciences) located at the Mid-Florida Research and Education Center (MREC), Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS), University of Florida, based in Apopka. This assignment may change in accordance with the needs of the unit. Tenure will accrue in the Department of Plant Pathology.
The UF/IFAS Mid-Florida Research and Education Center (MREC) in Apopka, Florida serves as a hub for research, teaching, and Extension programs supporting Florida’s controlled environment agriculture ornamental, landscape, space biology and industries. This variety of faculty, staff and programs provides a unique setting for interdisciplinary work within the MREC campus, with colleagues on the main UF campus and with faculty at other Centers around the state.
Expected Duties
The successful candidate will develop a nationally and internationally recognized, extramurally funded, research and teaching program in specialty crops pathology in controlled environment structures (greenhouses, vertical farming, container farming, high tunnels, and screen/shade houses) and space environment, with emphasis on advancing knowledge of plant disease epidemiology. Particular emphasis will be placed on addressing to the unique challenges of managing plant health in Bioregenerative Life Support Systems (BLSS) that support human habitats in space, including those relevant to the International Space Station, lunar, and Martian missions.
Collaboration with colleagues across Florida, nationally, and internationally is expected.
The research program will address fundamental and applied questions critical to sustaining plant health in controlled‑environment and space‑based agricultural systems.
Key research areas will include:
Plant–Pathogen Dynamics in Closed and Space‑Analog Environments
- Pathogen biology with emphasis on the survival, growth, and dispersal of plant pathogens in controlled environment structures, and under microgravity and other extraterrestrial conditions relevant to space environment.
- Conduct research on the effects of microgravity and extraterrestrial conditions on plant resistance mechanisms, pathogen virulence, and disease development.
- Investigate the aerobiology of globally dispersed plant pathogens as analogs for transport, persistence, and exposure risks on planetary surfaces and in closed habitats.
- Develop and implement advanced diagnostic tools and methodologies for the early detection, identification, and monitoring of plant pathogens in controlled environments and space habitats.
Pathogen Management Strategies
- Investigate novel pathogen and disease management strategies suitable for controlled and space environment systems, including soil-less and soil‑based plant production systems.
- Develop integrated pest management (IPM) frameworks tailored to the unique biological, physical, and operational challenges associated with maintaining plant health in controlled and space environment systems.
The incumbent will engage in scholarly activities related to instruction, including teaching graduate and undergraduate courses. Primary instructional responsibilities will include the development and delivery of a plant pathology graduate level course Applied Epidemiology in Controlled and Space Environments (an updated version of PLP6404, 3 credits, online, asynchronous delivery with office hours, with an in-person bootcamp option for hands-on training; one offering per year). The course will have an undergraduate section. It is expected the faculty member also develops a graduate course with an undergraduate section on Plant Health in Controlled and Space Environments (3 credits, online, asynchronous delivery with office hours, one offering per year). Faculty are encouraged to support and participate in the CALS Honors Program, distance education, and international education.
The faculty member is expected to publish research results in national and international refereed and non-refereed journals, present results at professional meetings, and collaborate with interdisciplinary faculty and industry partners to address emerging plant pathology challenges in closed and controlled environments.
The successful candidate will participate actively in graduate education by chairing and serving on graduate committees, supervising thesis and dissertation research, and publishing research results with students, and engage in professional service, consistent with the IFAS land-grant mission. The faculty member will actively seek contract and grant funding to support his/her program. Involvement in national and international professional societies is expected.
Because of the IFAS land-grant mission, all faculty are expected to be supportive of and engaged in all three mission areas—Research, Teaching and Extension—regardless of the assignment split specified in the position description.
Background Information:
The position will be based at the UF/IFAS Mid-Florida Research and Education Center (MREC) in Apopka, Florida, which serves as a hub for research, teaching, and Extension programs supporting Florida’s ornamental, landscape, urban and controlled environment agriculture industries. The Center provides access to laboratory, greenhouse, and field research facilities, along with strong partnerships with industry stakeholders. MREC is one of 12 University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Research and Education Centers. Located in the heart of Florida (just north or Orlando), the MREC is a center for research, teaching, and Extension programs. Originally established as the Central Florida Research & Education Center in the fall of 1986 by administratively combining research centers at Apopka, Leesburg, and Sanford, a new research and education facility was constructed on land next to the old Apopka center in 1999. Today, UF/IFAS MREC serves a large ornamental, nursery and agricultural industry which has historically cooperated with the Center to develop applied research. MREC’s unique 218-acre facility includes two controlled environment facilities, over 130,000 square feet of greenhouses, 20,000 square feet of laboratories, two instructional pest management facilities, and a graduate student dormitory.
The Department of Plant Pathology has a broad variety of teaching, research, and extension programs, with 39 faculty members across the state (20 in Gainesville and 19 at 9 different Research and Educations Centers). We foster an atmosphere of collaboration, both within and among academic departments, and offer many opportunities to integrate teaching with research, extension, and outreach activities. Our undergraduate Plant Science Degree program is administered jointly among three departments: Horticultural Sciences, Agronomy, and Plant Pathology. We also participate in the interdepartmental Doctor of Plant Medicine (DPM) program.
The University of Florida is a Land-Grant, Sea-Grant, and Space-Grant institution, encompassing virtually all academic and professional disciplines, with an enrollment of more than 56,000 students. UF is a member of The Association of American Universities. The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences includes the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, the Florida Agricultural Experiment Station, the Florida Cooperative Extension Service, the College of Veterinary Medicine, the Florida Sea Grant program, and encompasses 16 on-campus academic departments and schools, 12 Research and Educational Centers (REC) located throughout the state, 6 Research sites/demonstration units administered by RECs or academic departments, and Florida Cooperative Extension Service offices in all 67 counties (counties operate and maintain). The School of Natural Resources and Environment is an interdisciplinary unit housed in IFAS and managed by several colleges on campus. UF/IFAS employs nearly 4,500 people, which includes approximately 990 salaried faculty and 1,400 permanent support personnel located in Gainesville and throughout the state. IFAS, one of the nation’s largest agricultural and natural resources research and education organizations, is administered by a Vice President and four deans: the Dean of the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, the Dean for Extension and Director of the Florida Cooperative Extension Service, the Dean for Research and Director of the Florida Agricultural Experiment Station, and the Dean for the College of Veterinary Medicine. UF/IFAS also engages in cooperative work with Florida A&M University in Tallahassee.
The faculty member is expected to be affiliated with the UF’s Astraeus Space Institute, Emerging Pathogens Institute, and Global Food Systems Institute.
