Joanne Emerson

Joanne Emerson is an Associate Professor in the Department of Plant Pathology at the University of California, Davis. Her research focuses on soil and rhizosphere viral ecology, microbial metagenomics, and biogeochemistry. She leads the Emerson Lab, which investigates viral roles in soil microbiomes, phytobiomes, and plant pathogen interactions. Her work emphasizes understanding how viruses influence carbon cycling and ecosystem functioning through spatially resolved multi-omic approaches.

Key research areas include viral responses to environmental disturbances like wildfires, soil pH effects on viral communities, and the application of viromics to agricultural systems. She is affiliated with the UC Davis campus, located at Hutchison Hall 474, and actively contributes to workshops and conferences on microbiome data management and soil viral research.

Dr. Emerson’s scholarship bridges microbial ecology, environmental science, and biogeochemistry, with a focus on uncovering viral contributions to terrestrial ecosystems. Her lab develops protocols for virome analysis and explores novel methodologies to study viral-host interactions in natural and agricultural soils.