Grad Student Spotlight: Edwin D. Navarro Monserrat

monserratName: Edwin D. Navarro Monserrat

Title and Department: PhD candidate at the Department of Plant Pathology

Describe your work: My research has focused on the use of a collection of biocontrol Pseudomonas for the management of Pythium-induced symptoms in hydroponically grown leafy greens. In addition to this, a large portion of my efforts have been spent in performing various genomic analyses on this collection of Pseudomonas with a particular focus on looking into type VI secretion (T6SS), a secretion system implicated in bacterial competition and one we believe can be leveraged to improve biocontrol activity in these Pseudomonas.

How long have you been with OSU? I have been a graduate student in the Department of Plant Pathology since 2019.

Tell us about your family/pets: I have five siblings for which I share older sibling duties with my twin brother. I have a cat named Nezuko that I adopted back in 2022.

What is your hometown? I was born and raised in Manati, Puerto Rico, a coastal town located in the northern part of the island.

What is something you would like to learn? As part of my PhD, I've learned how to code in several programming languages. Something I want to learn is machine learning as it is being increasingly used for various data analyses.

What is your favorite restaurant or food? My favorite food is pretty much any plate that is prepared by my grandma. Since I don't have access to my grandma's food regularly, I enjoy trying new places to eat from time to time and have a soft spot for Latin-American food.

What is a talent or superpower you wish you had? If I could have a superpower, I would like to be able to transport myself from place to place to be able to visit new places and family whenever I like.

Where is your favorite place to vacation? My favorite place to vacation is Puerto Rico (there's no place like home)