Dr. Joanne Emerson is a professor of the Plant Pathology department at UC Davis who teaches GDB 187 and SAS 13. In her lab, Dr. Emerson studies viral communities and their influences on host ecology and biogeochemistry in a variety of environments, including soil and plant-associated ecosystems.

How did you decide to study Plant Pathology?

I am still relatively new to plant pathology. As a microbial ecologist, I have worked in a variety of ecosystems, and expanding from soil to plants was a natural fit after I started my position at UC Davis in 2017. I’ll never forget the first time I was introduced to plant disease in the field – I expected total devastation, but it was so nuanced and patchy! Unraveling the complex interactions among microbiomes, pathogens, plant physiology, and the environment will keep us busy for a long time. 

How have your past experiences prepared you for working at UC Davis/Did you have any other jobs? 

I had a lot of other jobs before coming to UC Davis, but this is my first faculty position. I had undergraduate internships studying goldfish gills and meteorites, then laboratory jobs studying mouse responses to cancer drugs and microbes in extreme environments, followed by graduate and postdoctoral work on microbes in lakes, air, and soil. These past experiences certainly influenced the direction of my research program, but just as importantly, they have shaped how I approach and value interpersonal dynamics in the workplace. It’s really the culture of your working environment that will keep you wanting to come back every day. 

What about teaching at UC Davis do you love? 

The students. Duh. Students always bring new perspectives, and especially in a class like GDB 187, I have the opportunity to see each new cohort of students grow and gain confidence in their abilities as scientists. I cannot tell you how delightful and rewarding that is!

What was the experience like for you in adapting your courses this past year to the online environment?  

I won’t lie, it was pretty hard early in the pandemic because the switch happened so fast, and it coincided with some major deadlines on the research side of my job. No doubt it was even harder on the students, and I am so grateful for how understanding they have been this whole time! Everything that happened from ~March-April 2020 is a blur, but after that, it got a lot easier. I was fortunate that both of the classes that I teach were relatively easy to transfer online and did not have labs. Teaching SAS 13 (Disease and Society) online during the pandemic was some combination of special/interesting/poignant/a privilege/devastating. I obviously don’t have the right word for it, but I feel like the students and I went through something together. No doubt that experience will stick with me for the rest of my life. 

Besides being a professor, what are some outside hobbies that you enjoy right now? 

I love hiking, camping, backpacking, rock climbing (mostly on plastic), and cooking. And flipping through cookbooks. And eating. Is eating a hobby? 

What would students be surprised to find out about you?  

I used to have an English accent. [pause for effect] That sounds really cool, but it makes more sense if you know that my mom is English, and I lost my accent around age 4 or 5 when I started going to school. That’s right, students, I was cool once, but then I turned 5. 

What is the best piece of advice you would offer an undergraduate student? 

What you’re doing now doesn’t have to be (and probably won’t be) what you do for the rest of your life, so don’t worry too much about getting it exactly right. A close second: visit your professors’ office hours. We can help with anything from coursework to navigating research opportunities on campus to thinking about your future career.