Rate My Professor Caitilyn Allen

Allen's research centers on the biology of plant pathogenic bacteria, with a focus on Ralstonia solanacearum, the soilborne pathogen causing bacterial wilt in tropical and warm temperate crops such as tomato, potato, banana, and geranium. Her lab examines pathogen-host interactions in planta, including metabolic adaptations for growth in nutrient-poor, microaerobic xylem using inorganic nitrogen for energy, defense sensing, and virulence; intrastrain competition via bacteriocins; extracellular DNases (NucA and NucB) that degrade plant extracellular traps and enhance virulence; and degradation of plant salicylic acid to evade defenses. She co-edited Bacterial Wilt: The Disease and the Ralstonia solanacearum Species Complex (APS Press, 2005), Biology of Plant-Microbe Interactions, Vol. 3 (2002), and Bacterial Wilt Disease: Molecular and Ecological Aspects (1998). Notable publications include 'How Ralstonia solanacearum manipulates and exploits the flowing plant xylem environment' (Trends in Microbiology, 2018), 'Escaping underground nets: extracellular DNases degrade plant extracellular traps' (PLoS Pathogens, 2016), and 'Degradation of the plant defense signal salicylic acid protects Ralstonia solanacearum' (mBio, 2016). Allen's impact is evidenced by awards such as the 2020 American Society for Microbiology Alice C. Evans Award for Advancement of Women, American Phytopathological Society Fellowship (2013), American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellowship (2009), Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor (2017), and APS National Award for Excellence in Teaching (2005). She has served as Senior Editor for APS Press (2009-2016), Associate Editor for Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions (1997-2001) and Molecular Plant Pathology (1999-2006), Editorial Board member for Frontiers in Plant Science (2011-present), and on APS committees including Bacteriology and Agricultural Bioterrorism.