Kamyar Aram

Research Statement:

I joined the Rizzo Lab in 2006 as a research technician and have since worked primarily on diagnostics and monitoring the spread of Phytophthora ramorum and Sudden Oak Death in California. I started as a PhD student in the lab in autumn of 2009, focusing on the ecology of P. ramorum and other Phytophthora species in open water ecosystems <read more>. In the course of this work, I’ve also developed great interest in the oaks of California. I have some ongoing work focusing on susceptibility of California oak species to P. ramorum, including currently a collaboration with Phytosphere Research on the susceptibility of Canyon Live Oak (Quercus chrysolepis) to canker infection.

I received my MS in Horticulture from Cornell University in 2002, my BS & BA (Plant Biology/Latin) from the Ohio Sate University in 1998. Before joining the Plant Pathology Department at UC Davis, I worked for a number of years in viticulture and wine-making in New York, South America and California.

Research:

- Susceptibility of Canyon Live Oak (Quercus chrysolepis) to Sudden Oak Death
- Ecology of Phytophthora ramorum and other Phytophthora species in watercourses

Publications:

Aram, K. and Rizzo, D.M. 2009. Status of California’s Phytophthora ramorum Stream Survey.
[POSTER] Presented at the Fourth Sudden Oak Death Symposium, 15-18 June, Santa Cruz, California.

Fichtner, E., Aram, K. and Rizzo, D.M. 2009. Ecology of Phytophthora ramorum in watercourses implications for the spread and management of Sudden Oak Death. [POSTER] Presented at the Fourth Sudden Oak Death Symposium, 15-18 June, Santa Cruz, California.