Shim, Won-Bo Professor and Associate Department Head

Fungal pathogens of cereal crops can cause devastating disruption to the global food supply, and the economic loss due to crop diseases can add up to billions of dollars annually worldwide. The Shim lab at Texas A&M University focused on studying fungal pathogens of field crops, particularly Fusarium species. Notably, hazardous Fusarium mycotoxins pose a significant threat to global food safety and human health. Crop losses as well as the regulatory, testing, and management costs associated with mycotoxins in the US tops $1 billion annually.



The Genus Fusarium has had a great negative impact on agriculture and food safety but also presents a great opportunity for answering many fundamental questions. We are pursuing new discoveries that will ultimately lead to innovative tools for controlling crop diseases and mycotoxin contamination. To broaden the impact, we are actively collaborating with colleagues at Texas A&M as well as other prominent institutions worldwide. We are also very excited about our collaborations with colleagues in Texas A&M Engineering to spearhead multidisciplinary projects that can innovate plant pathology research.