back to people





melissa  

Melissa Keller is a Ph.D. student in the Schmale Lab working on the aerobiology of Gibberella zeae, a devastating pathogen of wheat, barley, and corn. A native of Tennessee, Melissa enjoys hiking, listening to music, and spending as much time as possible in the outdoors. She earned her B.S. in Environmental Science from Roanoke College in Salem, Virginia. Melissa worked as an Environmental Outdoor Educator for several years before returning to graduate school. She has been assisting in the collection and curation of airplane samples, harvesting FHB-infected wheat samples from field experiments, and purifying cultures of fungi in preparation for future genotyping studies. She is acquiring new molecular biology tools which will be used to provide practical solutions in agriculture. Melissa looks forward to her interactions with growers and producers in Virginia and beyond.