The North Willamette Research and Extension Center has hired a new bilingual extension educator in nursery plant health. Dr. Luisa Santamaria will be introduced at a reception from 2-6 p.m. Friday, March 6 at NWREC, 15210 N.E. Miley Road, Aurora, Ore (directions).

Dr. Santamaria is currently working as a post-doctoral Research Associate with Tennessee State University in McMinnville, investigating Phytophthora subspecies in nurseries systems. She has an M.S. degree in Horticulture and a Ph.D in Plant Pathology from the University of Delaware.

In addition to work on Phytophthora in nurseries, Dr. Santamaria has worked with downy mildew resistance of lima beans;Solanum resistance to Meloidogine nematodes; isolation and culturing of different groups of nitrogen-fixing bacteria; seed germination and regeneration in vitro of endangered species of orchids; and micropropagation protocols for commercialization of species of potatoes, strawberry, garlic, and gerbera.