Jaime Blair

Jaime Blair is a Professor of Biology at Franklin and Marshall College, where she has served as Program Chair of Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies since 2022. Her career spans research and teaching roles, including Associate Professor (2014-2022) and Assistant Professor (2008-2014) at F&M, and postdoctoral fellowships at Amherst College and Penn State University.

• B.Sc. in Biology (Ithaca College)
• Ph.D. in Biology and Astrobiology (Penn State University)

Her research focuses on evolutionary genomics of eukaryotes, particularly oomycetes, combining field sampling, molecular tools, and computational analysis to study their taxonomy, phylogenetics, and ecological roles as pathogens in agricultural, aquatic, and terrestrial ecosystems.

Recent research trends include oomycete diversity in industrial hemp, genomic profiling of Phytophthora species, and microbial ecology of aquatic pathogens. She has published 15 major works from 2014-2025 in journals like PLoS ONE and Persoonia, emphasizing molecular diagnostics and computational phylogenetics.

Scientific Awards & Grants:

• Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture Grant (2021-2023) for hemp pathogen assessment
• F&M Enhanced Sabbatical Fellowship (2020-2021)
• NSF CC*DNI Campus Grant (Co-PI, 2015-2018)
• American Phytopathological Society Schroth Award (2013)
• USDA-NIFA Oomycete CAP Grant (Co-PI, 2011-2017)

She mentors undergraduate researchers in the Blair Lab, with current members including Kyra Caffrey, Wenrong Wu, Quyen Hoang, and Zoe Shah. Her work integrates molecular tools for pathogen surveillance in agricultural and environmental systems.