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Michael Fulcher
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Contact information

Dr. Michael Fulcher

michael.fulcher@usda.gov


Foreign Disease/Weed Science Research
1301 Ditto Avenue, Fort Detrick, MD 21702
Phone: (301) 619 2343
Fax: (301) 619-2880

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Michael Fulcher is a Research Plant Pathologist at the USDA-ARS Foreign Disease-Weed Science Research Unit (FDWSRU) on Fort Detrick in Frederick, Maryland. Since joining ARS in 2021, Dr. Fulcher has conducted research on the biological control of invasive weeds using plant pathogens and other microbial agents.

Research Emphasis


My program investigates weed-microbe interactions at individual, population, and community scales. Long-term research objectives are (1) to develop new ecological and evolutionary frameworks that guide microbial-based weed biocontrol programs and (2) to discover and deploy microbes as biological control agents of invasive weeds. 

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Our group leverages advances in genomics, machine learning, and high-throughput sequencing to understand the ecology and impacts of uncharacterized weed-microbe associations. Areas of ongoing research emphasis include identifying new and emerging pathogens of weeds found in North America, evaluating the safety and efficacy of foreign microbes for use as weed biological control agents, and characterizing the diversity and dynamics of microbial communities associated with invasive weeds. Current target weeds include widespread rangeland invaders as well as species harmful to mid-Atlantic ecosystems.

 

Projects

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Publications

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Education

Ph.D. Plant Pathology, Cornell University
B.S. Environmental Horticulture, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

 

Research Experience

  • Research Plant Pathologist, USDA-ARS, Foreign Disease/Weed Science Unit, Frederick, MD, 2021-present.
  • Postdoctoral Research Associate, Department of Plant Pathology, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, MN, 2019-2021.

 

ARS News Articles

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