WSCSE-2026

Almendra Astete Farfán is a Ph.D. student in Bioagricultural Sciences and Plant Pathology at Colorado State University, where she researches Fusarium spp. associated with conifers, the seed microbiome of Abies species, and nursery aerobiomes. Her background spans molecular plant pathology, biological control, and resistance breeding across institutions in Peru, the UK, and the U.S. Almendra earned her B.Sc. in Biology from the Universidad Nacional San Antonio Abad del Cusco, Peru, where she studied the population structure of Phytophthora infestans in collaboration with the International Potato Center (CIP). During her M.Sc. at CSU, she investigated the rust fungus Puccinia punctiformis as a biocontrol agent against the invasive weed Cirsium arvense. Almendra received molecular biology training to study Phytophthora capsici effectors at the James Hutton Institute (UK) and conducted research at Peru’s National Institute for Agricultural Innovation (INIA) on gene editing for resistance to P. infestans and papaya ringspot virus (PRSV). She also worked at the Universidad Nacional de Cañete on identifying endophytic fungi with biocontrol potential against Botrytis cinerea in blueberries. Her earlier research includes sweet potato seed regeneration, in vitro culture, and genotyping of native crops at CIP and the Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina. She has served as a teaching assistant in plant pathology and agricultural biology in both Peru and the U.S. Her research interests lie at the intersection of plant health, microbial ecology, and sustainable crop protection.