Emily Althoff has joined CAFNR as an assistant extension professor and state extension specialist in urban entomology. Hers is a joint position with Lincoln University in Jefferson City, where Althoff serves as an assistant extension professor. Her extension program focuses on the intersection of insects in our everyday lives (our homes, gardens and trees), and her research is in insect chemical ecology; how insects use their sense of smell to navigate the world around them. Althoff received two graduate fellowships, and has interned at both the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History and the Illinois Natural History Survey: Insect Collection. She has given dozens of extension and other outreach talks. She received her Ph.D. in entomology at the University of Minnesota in summer 2024, while she also served as a visiting lecturer at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. Reach Althoff at emilyalthoff@missouri.edu.
Erik Amezquita Morataya joins the Division of Plant Science and Technology as new assistant professor for data science. He works at the intersection of mathematics, computer science, data science and plant biology, and applies his background in computational mathematics to solve problems in plant biology, and to develop novel tools for the analysis of biological data. He is interested in modeling plant morphology using topological data analysis, basic image processing, and directional statistics and modeling. One of his passions is to help students bridge the gap between data and plant sciences. Amezquita will offer new data science courses in Plant Science and Technology, and seeks to develop a new certificate program. He received his Ph.D. from the Department of Computational Mathematics, Science and Engineering (CMSE) at Michigan State University. At Mizzou, he is also an adjunct professor in the Department of Mathematics. Reach Amezquita at eah4d@missouri.edu.
Joseph Lynch has joined Mizzou as an assistant professor in the Division of Plant Science and Technology. His current research focuses on the intercompartmental nature of plant metabolism, with a particular interest in how apparent functional redundancy of pathways sustains and regulates specialized metabolism. The overarching goals of this research are to better understand agriculturally and ecologically relevant stress responses, and to enable enhanced production of beneficial phytochemicals. Lynch has published more than 20 peer-reviewed articles and been principal investigator on grants from USDA-National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) and the NASA Space Biology Program, in addition to receiving a NIFA postdoctoral fellowship. He was hired as part of the MizzouForward initiative, and previously served as an assistant professor of biochemistry at West Virginia University. He received his Ph.D. in molecular plant sciences from Washington State University. Contact Lynch at jlynch@missouri.edu.
Alex Mangialardi joined the Division of Plant Science of Technology as the assistant research professor for weed science at the Fisher Delta Research, Extension and Education Center in Portageville, Missouri. In this role, he will develop a grower-focused weed science research program and study weed management strategies in crops important to the state and the region, including cotton, rice, soybean, corn and peanuts. His goal is to develop and advance weed management options to support growers in the Delta region of Missouri, which not only will enhance economic productivity but also will minimize risks to agricultural production and the environment. He received his Ph.D. in Agronomy-Weed Science from Mississippi State University. You can reach Mangialardi at gmfd5@missouri.edu.
Rasel Parvej joins Mizzou as the new state extension specialist and assistant professor in soil testing and interpretation. In this role, Parvej will direct both the MU Soil and Plant Testing Laboratory and the Soil Health Assessment Center (SHAC). His responsibilities include overseeing soil testing services, interpreting results, and providing guidance on soil fertility and health to support agricultural productivity and sustainability. Prior to this position, he was an assistant professor and state soil fertility specialist at Louisiana State University. Parvej grew up in Bangladesh, where he began his academic journey, earning Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Crop and Soil Sciences from Bangladesh Agricultural University. He then went on to earn his Ph.D. from the University of Arkansas in Soil Fertility and Plant Nutrition. You can reach him at mrparvej@missouri.edu.
Carson Roberts joins the Division of Plant Science and Technology as an assistant research professor and state extension specialist in forage agronomy. He is based out of the Northern Missouri Research, Extension and Education Center’s Cornett Research Farm in Linneus, Missouri. There, he leads an applied research program on forage-livestock systems to support one of the largest beef herds in the U.S. He has a particular interest in regenerative systems that improve drought resiliency. He has received four first-place honors in poster competitions, has given nearly 20 extension and field day presentations, and performed in-field studies for cover crop and tillage practices in cotton. Roberts received his Ph.D. in plant and soil science from Mississippi State University in May 2024. Reach Roberts at carson.roberts@missouri.edu.
Erin Sparks has joined the Division of Plant Science and Technology and Mizzou’s Bond Life Sciences Center as an associate professor. In addition, she has a joint appointment with the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center in St. Louis. Sparks received a B.S. in Biomedical Engineering, a Ph.D. in Developmental Biology, and has postdoctoral experience in plant molecular biology. In her research program, she takes advantage of her unique interdisciplinary background and combines tools in mechanical engineering, plant genetics and molecular biology to better understand plant mechanical traits to improve the resilience of plants to external forces (for example, strong storms and winds). Her current focus is particularly on brace roots, specialized aerial roots in large cereal crops, like corn, that play an important role for the mechanical support, and nutrient and water uptake of the plant. You can reach Sparks at esparks@missouri.edu.