Contact information

Dr. Nicole Thunes

 nicole.thunes@usda.gov 

Foreign Disease/Weed Science Research
1301 Ditto Avenue, Fort Detrick, MD 21702
Phone: (301) 619-0509
Fax: (301) 619-2880

Dr. Nicole Thunes completed her PhD in Molecular Microbiology at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee with a research focus on bacterial pathogenesis of fish pathogen Flavobacterium columnare. Nicole is a current postdoctoral research fellow in the Pedley lab where she works with a fungal plant pathogen and can expand her knowledge of plant genetics and molecular techniques.

Research Emphasis

Currently I am working to characterize genes in soybean that provide resistance to the fungal pathogen Phakopsora pachyrhizi. After identification of target genes, we use gene silencing techniques to assess differences in soy susceptibility to the pathogen.

I use genetic analysis and molecular biology techniques to identify areas of interest, construct plasmids, analyze gene expression, and infect plants. We use soybean (Glycine max) and flowering tobacco (Nicotiana benthamiana) as current research models.

Publications

View publications via Google Scholar

Education

Ph.D. Molecular Microbiology, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. 2022
M.S. Microbiology, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
B.S. Microbiology, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Research Experience

• ORISE Postdoctoral Research Fellow, USDA-ARS, Foreign Disease/Weed Science Unit, Frederick, MD, 2023-present.
• ORISE Postdoctoral Research Fellow, USDA-ARS, National Center for Cool and Cold-Water Aquaculture, Leetown, WV, 2022-2023.
• Research Assistant/Associate. University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI, 2015-2022.