Overview

My interests and objectives pertain to plant pathology, plant breeding and international agriculture. I serve as scientific director for The McKnight Foundation`s Collaborative Crop Research Program (CCRP), a competitive grants program that funds agricultural research in developing countries. At Cornell, my affiliations are with the departments of Plant Pathology and Plant-Microbe Biology and Plant Breeding and Genetics, as well as with International Agriculture and Rural Development and the Institute for Genomic Diversity. My own research program is focused on understanding the ways in which plants defend themselves against pathogen attack.

Research Focus

My laboratory conducts research to understand the genetic, physiological and molecular basis of quantitative disease resistance in maize.

Outreach and Extension Focus

In my role as scientific director of The McKnight Foundation Collaborative Crop Research Program, I have the opportunity to interact with researchers, development practitioners, farmers and funders in the field of international agriculture. My role is both supportive and activist.

Instruction Focus

I co-teach the gateway course of the IARD major (International Agriculture and Rural Development. The course, IARD202, is entitled "Perspectives in International Agriculture and Rural Development." It is a survey of the big issues in the field. Drs. Bob Herdt and Larry Harrington are my co-professors.

Additional Links

• CCRP-Web
• Department of Plant Pathology and Plant-Microbe Biology
• Lab Web Page
• Link to CALS Research portal
• Link to CALS Impact statements

Honors, Awards and Appointments

• Executive Committee, United Nations University Food and Nutrition Program - 2006-present
• Editorial Board, International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability - 2006-present
• Appointed Associate Professor, Plant Breeding and Genetics, Cornell University (joint appointment; retaining primary affiliation with Plant Pathology-Ithaca) - 2003
• Appointed International Professor of Plant Pathology, Cornell University - 2002
• Appointed Associate Professor, Plant Pathology and International Agriculture, Cornell University - 2001
• Appointed Program Director, McKnight Foundation`s Collaborative Crop Research Program - 2001
• Worker of the Year, International Potato Center - 2000
• MacArthur Fellow - 1998-2003
• Project Leader, "Integrated Control of Potato Late Blight, " International Potato Center (CIP) - 1997-2001
• Editor, THEORETICAL AND APPLIED GENETICS - 1996-1999
• Associate Editor, PHYTOPATHOLOGY - 1995-1998

Professional Activities

• First meeting of the Eastern/Southern Africa Legumes CoP held September 25-28, 2007 in Lilongwe, Malawi. http://mcknight.ccrp.cornell.edu/participants/eafcop1_07/wkshpmalawi07.html. - September 25-28, 2007
• Site visits to projects in the Eastern/Southern Africa Legumes CoP in Malawi and Mozambique. - September 17-24, 2007
• Invited PI, 2007 Generation Challenge Programme Annual Research Meeting held in Johannesburg, South Africa. - September 12-16, 2007:
• CALS admissions open house - October 14, 2007
• Presented seminar for the CIIFAD seminar series on Sustainable Agriculture, entitled: "McKnight Collaborative Crop Research Program: An Experimental Approach to Supporting International Agriculture Research " - November 28, 2007
• Presentation for Cornell Symposium on "The African Food System and its Interactions with Health and Nutrition "; invited talk on "Pest management, farmer incomes and health risks in SSA: pesticides, host plant resistance and other measures " at the Cornell University. - November 15, 2007
• Symposium presentation for UNU-Cornell Africa Series "The African Food System and its Interactions with Health and Nutrition "; invited talk on "Pest management, farmer incomes and health risks in SSA: pesticides, host plant resistance and other measures " at the United Nations, New York City. - November 13, 2007
• Invited seminar speaker for the Department of Biology, University of Washington. - May 21-23, 2007
• First meeting of the CCRP`s West Africa CoP held March 5-9, 2007 in Niamey, Niger. http://mcknight.ccrp.cornell.edu/participants/wafcop1_07/wkshpniger07.html. - March 5-9, 2007
• Invited speaker for the Third General Meeting of the Rockefeller Foundation program on Biotechnology, Breeding and Seed Systems for African Crops, Maputo, Mozambique. - March 26-30, 2007
• March 11-13; December 1 and 6, 2007: CCRP Oversight Committee meetings in Paris, France. - March 11-13; December 1 and 6, 2007:
• Gates and McKnight Foundation meeting, New York City, NY. - June 13, 2007
• Third meeting of the CCRP`s Andean CoP held July 16-21, 2007 in Cuzco, Peru. http://mcknight.ccrp.cornell.edu/participants/andescop3_07/wkshpandes07.html. - July 16-21
• Land grant mission discussion meeting, 117 Warren Hall - January 29, 2007
• Invited speaker for the 15th International Plant and Animal Genome meeting held in San Diego, California, CA. - January 13-17, 2007
• Site visits to the Rice biodiversity (Southeast Asia) project partners in Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos. - February 4-14, 2007
• Triennial Grantee Conference to be held in Chantilly, France from December 1-6, 2007. http://mcknight.ccrp.cornell.edu/participants/grantee3_07/grantee07.html. This meeting invites representatives of all active projects, Oversight Committee and CCRP staff and will include plenary research reports from each of the currently-funded CCRP projects, presented in thematic groups; poster sessions and inter- and intra-partnership meetings. - December 1-6, 2007.
• Invited speaker at "Meet the Researcher " lunchtime seminar series for greenhouse staff - August 8, 2007
• McKnight Foundation board meeting, Minneapolis, MN. - August 24-26, 2007
• Guest speaker, Boyce Thompson Institute Post-Graduate Society summer retreat - August 16, 2007
• Invited panelist for the Genes, Seeds, Plots, Models and the Poor roundtable sponsored by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation held in Minneapolis, Minnesota - April 4-6, 2007
• Guest lecturer, S&TS 201 class - April 23, 2007
• Guest lecturer, PLPA 601 class - April 18, 2007
• Invited seminar speaker for the Department of Plant Pathology, Washington State University. - April 10-12, 2007:

Selected Publications

• Garrett, K.A., L.N. Zuniga, E. Roncal, G.A. Forbes, C.C. Mundt, Z. Su and R.J. Nelson. The effects of host biodiversity on disease levels across a climatic gradient. Ecological Applications, in revision.
• Ortiz, Oscar, Guillermo Frias, Raul Ho, Hector Cisneros, Rebecca Nelson, Renee Castillo, Ricardo Orrego, Willy Pradel, Jesus Alcazar, and Mario Bazan. 2008. Organizational learning through participatory research: CIP and CARE in Peru. Agriculture and Human Values. 13pp.
• Wisser, R.J., S.C. Murray, J.M. Kolkman, H. Ceballos and R.J. Nelson. Selection mapping of loci for quantitative disease resistance in a diverse maize population. Submitted.
• Nelson, R.J. Pest Management, Farmer Incomes and Health Risks in SSA: Pesticides, Host Plant Resistance and Other Measures. Chapter 14 in The African Food System and its Interaction with Human Health and Nutrition: Research and Policy Priorities, P. Pinstrup-Andersen, Ed. Submitted.
• Nicklin, C., M. Rivera and R. Nelson. Realizing the potential of an Andean legume: roles of market-led and research-led innovations. International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability 4(1): 61-78.
• Wulff, E.G., W. Perez, R.J. Nelson, M. Bonierbale, J.A. Landeo and J.A. Forbes. 2007. Identification of stable resistance to Phytophthora infestans in potato genotypes evaluated in field experiments in Peru. Experimental Agriculture 43: 1-11.
• Wisser, R.J., Balint-Kurti, P.J., and R.J. Nelson (2006) The genetic architecture of disease resistance in maize: a synthesis of published studies. Phytopathology 96(2): 120-129.
• Wisser, R.J., Qi, S., Kresovich, S., and R.J. Nelson. 2005. Identification and characterization of regions of the rice genome associated with broad-spectrum, quantitative disease resistance. Genetics 169: 2277-2293.
• Andrade-Piedra, J., R. Hijmans, G. Forbes, W.E. Fry and R.J. Nelson. 2005. Simulation of potato late blight in the Andes. 1: Modification and parameterization of the LATEBLIGHT model. Phytopathology 95 (10): 1191-1199.
• Garry, G., A. Salas, G. Forbes, W. Perez, M. Santa Cruz, and R.J. Nelson. 2005. Host specialization not detected in isolates of Phytophthora infestans attacking wild and cultivated potatoes in Peru. European J. Plant Pathology 54: 740-748.
• Ortiz, O., Garrett, K. A., Heath, J. J., Orrego, R., and Nelson, R. J. 2004. Management of potato late blight in the Peruvian highlands: Evaluating the benefits of Farmer Field Schools and Farmer Participatory Research. Plant Disease 88: 15-44.
• Naylor, R.L., W. P. Falcon, R.M. Goodman, M.M. Jahn, T. Sengooba, H. Tefera, and R.J. Nelson. 2004. Biotechnology in the Developing World: A Case for Increased Investments in Orphan Crops. Food Policy 29(1): 15-44.
• R.J. Nelson, R.L. Naylor, M.M. Jahn. 2004. The role of genomics research in improvement of "orphan " crops. Crop Science 44: 1901-1904.

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