Dr. Kathy Lawrence was born in El Paso, Texas, and raised in Alamogordo, New Mexico. She received a B.S. in agronomy from New Mexico State University then and M.S. and Ph.D. (in 1994) at  Mississippi State University. She served on the faculty at Northeast Louisiana University until 1999 and is currently Associate Professor in the Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology at Auburn University. Dr. Lawrence teaches undergraduate courses in general plant pathology and graduate courses in plant disease management, field survey, mycology and nematology.

Kathy Lawrence conducts research on nematodes, fungal/nematode interactions and host-pathogen relationships in field crops, vegetables, and ornamentals. She has made important contributions to the management of reniform nematode (Rotylenchulus reniformis). She demonstrated that accelerated microbial degradation of aldicarb sulfoxide compromised the efficacy of aldicarb in nematode control. She demonstrated reversal of accelerated microbial degradation by rotation to crops not requiring the use of aldicarb for nematode control. She has inventoried and quantified myriad bacteria species from soil that are supported on carbon from aldicarb and its metabolites. Her work has contributed to understanding of the transition from pesticide-dependent agriculture to more complex but sustainable systems.

Dr. Kathy S. Lawrence was the 2009 recipient of the Society of Nematologists' Syngenta Award.

Source:  Nematology Newsletter 56(3)