2026 Virginia Tech REEL Fellows
Fellow Fellow's Home Institution Faculty Mentor(s)
John Caranay Community College of Baltimore County Courtney Leisner
Project: Elevated temperatures compromise Capsicum annuum resistance to Xanthomonas
euvesicatoria
Eileen Chen Virginia Tech Xiaofeng Wang
Project: Engineering barley plants by transformation-mediated and virus-induced genome
editing approaches
Casper Donner Virginia Tech Boris Vinatzer
Project: Investigation of diversity and distribution of Xylella fastidiosa subsp. multiplex in its
native range in the Eastern United States
Thomas Eno Eastern Shore Community College Mark Reiter
Project: Agrivoltaics on the Eastern Shore of Virginia
Andrew Hanrahan Virginia Tech Bastiaan Bargmann
Project: Rooting for regeneration
Catalina Hickey Virginia Tech Enakshi Ghosh
Project: Sex-specific immunity shapes pest defense against natural enemies
Felicity Jortner Tulane University Bingyu Zhao
Project: Improving Agrobacterium-mediated watermelon transformation through explant
optimization and strain engineering
Khushi Koonapareddy North Carolina State University Srdjan Acimovic
Project: Comparison of DNA extraction kits for microbiome profiling of apple fireblight canker
caused by Erwinia amylovora
Stephanie Luu Bellevue College Dorothea Tholl
Project: Identification of enzymes in phenylpropene biosynthesis in carrots
Jacqueline McCarthy Boston University Susan Whitehead
Project: Insect diversity and abundance across ground and nutrient management regimes in
apple orchards
Casey McFarling Virginia Tech Clay Wright
Project: Who’s on Aux: Characterizing transcriptional specificity in response to auxin
Emmanuel Orozco Arizona State University Boris Vinatzer
Project: Detection and characterization of Xylella fastidiosa subspecies fastidiosa in the
eastern United States
Zach Rubio Rice University Birgit Scharf
Project: Transition metal sensing by the McpW chemoreceptor ligand-binding domain in
Sinorhizobium meliloti
Xaria Ward Clark University Laura Strawn
Project: Growth of Salmonella on fresh-cut tropical fruits at 23°C
This is the last year for the VT-REEL program. During orientation on May 26 fellows networked and learned about innovations in agriculture and extension. Program-affiliated events included workshops on food systems and scientific communication, as well as tours of the Hahn Horticultural Garden, the Sensory Evaluation Lab, and a local commercial farm. Stay tuned for more photos from this year's cohort!
