BTI’s Olivia Gomez Places 4th in APS Councilors’ Challenge

The Boyce Thompson Institute is pleased to announce that Olivia Gomez, a third-year undergraduate researcher in Michelle Heck’s lab, has placed fourth in the American Phytopathological Society’s Councilors’ Challenge.

“Thank you to my mentor Michelle and to the BTI team for all the help and support!” Gomez said.

The theme for the 2018 APS Councilors’ Challenge was “A Showcase of Undergraduate Research in Plant Pathology” to help the society recruit and retain undergraduates in plant pathology. Olivia submitted a video explaining how she became interested in plant pathology in high school, her current work studying artilysins’ potential to treat citrus greening disease, and her plans for the future.

“Olivia is a bright, talented and tenacious undergraduate researcher working in my lab on a highly intractable plant disease,” says Heck. “She has gained many important lab skills during her time at BTI that will be useful to her in the future. Because of her hard work, she is well-deserving of this important recognition from the APS at this stage in her career. We are all excited for her future in the plant pathology field! Great job, Olivia!”