Assistant or Associate Professor of Phytopathology in Controlled and Space Environments

Classification Minimum Requirements

Candidates for this rank shall hold the highest degree appropriate to their field. A candidate shall be expected to demonstrate successful experience pertinent to the position they are being recommended and have demonstrated qualities relevant to the goals of the academic unit in which they will be employed.

Ast/Aso Prof

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This is a 12-month, tenure‑accruing position that is 70% research (Florida Agricultural Experiment Station) and 30% teaching (College of Agricultural and Life Sciences) located at the Mid‑Florida Research and Education Center (MREC), Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS), University of Florida, based in Apopka. This assignment may change in accordance with the needs of the unit. Tenure will accrue in the Department of Plant Pathology.

The UF/IFAS Mid‑Florida Research and Education Center (MREC) in Apopka, Florida serves as a hub for research, teaching, and Extension programs supporting Florida’s controlled environment agriculture ornamental, landscape, space biology and industries. This variety of faculty, staff and programs provides a unique setting for interdisciplinary work within the MREC campus, with colleagues on the main UF campus and with faculty at other Centers around the state.

The successful candidate will develop a nationally and internationally recognized, extramurally funded, research and teaching program in specialty crops pathology in controlled environment structures (greenhouses, vertical farming, container farming, high tunnels, and screen/shade houses) and space environment, with emphasis on advancing knowledge of plant disease epidemiology. Particular emphasis will be placed on addressing the unique challenges of managing plant health in Bioregenerative Life Support Systems (BLSS) that support human habitats in space, including those relevant to the International Space Station, lunar, and Martian missions.

Collaboration with colleagues across Florida, nationally, and internationally is expected. The research program will address fundamental and applied questions critical to sustaining plant health in controlled‑environment and space‑based agricultural systems.

• Pathogen biology with emphasis on the survival, growth, and dispersal of plant pathogens in controlled environment structures, and under microgravity and other extraterrestrial conditions relevant to space environment.
• Conduct research on the effects of microgravity and extraterrestrial conditions on plant resistance mechanisms, pathogen virulence, and disease development.
• Investigate the aerobiology of globally dispersed plant pathogens as analogs for transport, persistence, and exposure risks on planetary surfaces and in closed habitats.
• Develop and implement advanced diagnostic tools and methodologies for the early detection, identification, and monitoring of plant pathogens in controlled environments and space habitats.

• Investigate novel pathogen and disease management strategies suitable for controlled and space environment systems, including soil‑less and soil‑based plant production systems.
• Develop integrated pest management (IPM) frameworks tailored to the unique biological, physical, and operational challenges associated with maintaining plant health in controlled and space environment systems.

The incumbent will engage in scholarly activities related to instruction, including teaching graduate and undergraduate courses. Primary instructional responsibilities will include the development and delivery of a plant pathology graduate level course Applied Epidemiology in Controlled and Space Environments (an updated version of PLP
6404, 3 credits, online, asynchronous delivery with office…