Dr. Ozgur Batuman | Plant Pathology Department | University of Florida Institute for Food and Agricultural Sciences Southwest Florida Research and Education Center, Immokalee FL
Lauren Fessler
Graduate Student - PhD Candidate
Lauren completed her bachelor’s degree in Biological and Plant Sciences in 2017 from Cornell University. She then worked as a lab technician at Cornell working with Aspergillus flavus before becoming a Research Associate in the Plant Sciences Department at the University of Tennessee from 2018 to 2023 where her work centered on utilizing technology to manage nursery and orchard crops. Lauren then came to SWFREC and joined the Citrus Pathology Lab during the summer of 2023. She anticipates graduating with her Master of Science in summer 2025.
Her current research projects focus on identifying control methods for bacterial pathogens of citrus. Additionally, Lauren plants to monitor citrus pathogens for oxytetracycline resistance.
In her free time, Lauren enjoys reading, sewing, and exploring all that Southwest Florida has to offer.