Western International Forest Disease Work Conference (WIFDWC) 2016, Sitka, Alaska, Agenda

70 th Western International Forest Disease Work Conference Virtual Meeting Agenda

April 14-16 th , 2026

Virtual Meeting Link

Tuesday, April 14, 2026

Time

Event

Moderator

11:00- 11:10

WELCOME, INTRODUCTIONS, & LOGISTICS

Michael Murray

11:10-11:30

KEYNOTE Dave Shaw – 2024 Outstanding Achievement Award Recipient, “Philosophy into Plant Pathology”

Kristen Chadwick

11:30-11 :40

BREAK

 

11:40- 12:50

University/Research Highlights

Brad Lalande

11:40 11:50

Host association and genetic diversity of the genus Onnia in North America, and the development and validation of a molecular tool for rapid detection of the species Onnia tomentosa Olivia Watson, Department of Agricultural Biology, Colorado State University

11:50 12:00

Assessing the drivers of ponderosa pine dieback and mortality – Michael McKee, Department of Agricultural Biology, Colorado State University

12:00 12:10

Uncovering interactions between  Armillaria solidipes  and fungal biocontrol agents using transcriptomics Ada Neupane, Department of Agricultural Biology, Colorado State University

12:10 12:20

Associations Between Soil Microbial Communities and Brown Spot Needle Blight Disease Severity in Loblolly Pine Plantations , Carolyn Cornell, Department of Agricultural Biology, Colorado State University

12:20 12:30

– Grace Ganter, Department of Agricultural Biology, Colorado State University

12:30 12:40

Discovery of Aspen Running Canker in Utah – Pavan Silva, Department of Agricultural Biology, Colorado State University

12:40 12:50

ATMoS : Monitoring Airborne Threats to Tree Health in Conservation and Reforestation Nurseries – Almendra Astete Farfan, Department of Agricultural Biology, Colorado State University

12:50- 1:00

BREAK

 

1:00-2:50

University/Research Highlights – Continued

Brad Lalande

1:00 1:15

Research overview of Hamelin Lab – Dr. Richard Hamelin, Department of Forest & Conversation Sciences, The University of British Columbia

1:15 1:25

Microscale Genetic Variation and Single Tree Population Structure of Arceuthobium tsugense subspecies tsugense Rachel Cook, Department of Forest & Conversation Sciences, The University of British Columbia

1:25 1:35

Hamelin Student, Department of Forest & Conversation Sciences, The University of British Columbia

1:35 1:45

Hamelin Student, Department of Forest & Conversation Sciences, The University of British Columbia

1:45 1:55

Population genetic analysis of the most recent Phytophthora ramorum invasion in Oregon's coastal forests – Stephanie Chase, Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, Oregon State University

1:55 2:05

BREAK

2:05 2:15

Hidden players, unmasked drivers: Fungal communities in conifer seeds – Isabella Laughton, Canadian Forest Service

2:15 2:30

Heterobasidion in California: long-term impacts, interactions with wildfire, and the potential for biological control – Dr. Richard Cobb, Natural Resources Management & Environmental Sciences, California Polytechnic State University

2:30 2:40

– Delaney Siegmund, Natural Resources Management & Environmental Sciences, California Polytechnic State University

2:40 2:50

Research projection and overview – Dr. Kelsey Tobin, Department of Forest, Rangeland and Fire Sciences, University of Idaho

2:50-3:00

End of Day

 

Wednesday, April 15, 2026

Time

Event

Moderator

11:00- 11:10

WELCOME, INTRODUCTIONS, & LOGISTICS

Brad Lalande

11:10-11:30

KEYNOTE Rona Sturrock – 2024 Outstanding Achievement Award Recipient, “Philosophy into Plant Pathology”

Kristen Chadwick

11:30- 12:30

Panel – Root Diseases

Brad Lalande

11:30 1 1:50

50-year effects of root removal and regeneration treatments on Armillaria root disease mortality– Rachel Brooks, Washington Department of Natural Resources

11:50 12:10

Stump removal and species admixture interact and affect yield of plots infected with Phellinus and Armillaria root diseases 55 years after control. – Mike Cruickshank, Canadian Forest Service

12:10 12:30

Disease resistance program (port orford cedar) – Dr. Richard Sniezko, US Forest Service, Dorena Genetic Resource Center

12:30- 12:45 BREAK

 

12:45-1 :30

Rust Committee Meeting

Jane Stewart

12:45 – 1:00

White pine blister rust spore trapping SW Rocky Mountains and Northern Rockies , Kelly Burns, Colorado State University

1:00 – 1:15

Genomic evidence of hybridization and introgression between two forest rust pathogens Cronartium ribicola and Cronartium comandrae , Shankar Gaire, Colorado State University.

1:15 – 1:30

Round Robin/Discussion

1:30-1:45

BREAK

1:45-2:45

Panel – Foliar Diseases

Brad Lalande

1:45 – 2:05

Predicting the spread of Fusarium dieback - invasive shothole borers in California – Dr. Shannon Lynch, Department of Plant Pathology, University of California Davis

2:05 – 2:25

A host-based culture medium for pathogenicity assays in Nothophaeocryptopus gaeumannii Cristian González, College of Forestry, Oregon State University

2:25 – 2:45

Traits associated with lodgepole pine resistance to dothistroma needle blight – Dr. Jonathan Cale, Department of Ecosystem Science and Management, University of Northern British Columbia

2:45-3:00

End of Day

 

Thursday, April 16, 2026

Time

Event

Moderator

11:00- 11:10

WELCOME, INTRODUCTIONS, & LOGISTICS

Brad Lalande

11:10-11:30

KEYNOTE Blakey Lockman – 2023 Outstanding Achievement Award Recipient, “Philosophy into Plant Pathology”

Kristen Chadwick

11:30-11 :40

BREAK

 

11:40-1 2:40

Panel – Special Papers

Brad Lalande

11:40-12:00

Variation among western redcedar provenances in resistance to butt rot caused by Coniferiporia weirii revealed through artificial inoculation – Mike Cruickshank, Canadian Forest Service

1200-12:20

Assessment of Western Red Cedar Dieback/Decline – Andrew Yost. Oregon Department of Forestry

12:20-12:40

An Overview of the ʻŌhiʻa Disease Resistance Program in Hawaiʻi – Marc Hughes, US Forest Service, Dorena Genetic Resource Center

12:40-12:55

BREAK

12:55-1:30

Panel – Special Papers - Continued

Brad Lalande

12:55-1:15

Udeuid wilt in Palau, which is caused by Ceratocystis sp. Udeuid is a culturally and ecologically important forest tree endemic to Palau – Mee-Sook Kim, US Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station

1:15-1:30

Climate-Driven Wood Degradation: The Fungal Community Composition of Ascomycota and Basidiomycota in Disturbance-Affected Boreal Tree Species– Nadya Citra, University of Alberta

1:30-1:45

BREAK

1:45- 2:45

Business Meeting

 

2:45-3:00

Adjourn