Barbara Kunkel

Barbara Kunkel is Professor of Biology and Associate Chair of Undergraduate Education at Washington University in St. Louis. Her research investigates signaling and regulatory events governing interactions between bacterial plant pathogens (particularly Pseudomonas syringae) and their hosts (Arabidopsis thaliana), focusing on molecular pathogenicity mechanisms and plant signaling pathway modifications.

Research areas include:

• Molecular basis of Pseudomonas syringae pathogenicity
• Plant physiological responses to virulence factors
• Auxin's role in plant-pathogen interactions
• Bacterial virulence gene regulation

Her publications demonstrate consistent focus on hormone-mediated plant-pathogen interactions, particularly auxin signaling mechanisms in disease susceptibility.

Scientific awards:

• AAAS Fellow (2020)