Caitilyn Allen Explained
Caitilyn Allen (born 1957 in Göttingen, West Germany)[1] is an American plant pathologist, specializing in phytobacteriology (i.e., bacterial diseases of plants). She is an internationally recognized expert on bacterial wilt[2] and has received several awards for her work.[3]
Education and career
Caitilyn Allen grew up in the US Midwest.[2] She studied from 1975 to 1978 at Swarthmore College and then worked on a farm growing organic vegetables, but the venture was unprofitable.[3] She studied for the academic year 1980–1981 at the University of Maine at Orono, where she graduated with a B.S. in botany. In 1987 she graduated with a Ph.D. in plant pathology from the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.[2] Her Ph.D. thesis is entitled Evolution of a gene for pathogenicity; endo-pectate lyase.[4]
As a postdoc, Allen was from 1986 to 1988 a research associate in Lyon at the CNRS Laboratoire de génétique moléculaire microbienne. (She is fluent in French.)[3] From 1988 to 1992 she held a postdoc position at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW-Madison), where she began research on bacterial wilt. Subsequently, she pursued such studies for next three decades.[2] In 1992 she became a faculty member in UW-Madison's department of plant pathology. She began as an assistant professor, was promoted to associate professor, became a full professor, and is now the department's Ethel and O. N. Allen Professor.[3] (She is unrelated to Ethel and O. N. Allen.)[2] [5]
Allen became in 1995 the founding director of UW-Madison's Women In Science and Engineering Residential Learning Community (called the WISE Dorm)[2] and for her directorship received in 2001 the Women Engineers Professional/Academic Network National Women InEngineering Program Award.[3] She has received several teaching awards. In 2008 she received from the French government the Palmes Académiques for her contribution to French education and culture. In 2009 she was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.[3] In 2020 the American Society for Microbiology gave her the Alice C. Evans Award.[6]
Selected publications
Articles
- 10.1006/pmpp.2000.0283. Polygalacturonases are required for rapid colonization and full virulence of Ralstonia solanacearum on tomato plants . 2000 . Huang . Qi . Allen . Caitilyn . Physiological and Molecular Plant Pathology . 57 . 2 . 77–83 .
- 10.1128/JB.183.12.3597-3605.2001. Ralstonia solanacearum Needs Motility for Invasive Virulence on Tomato . 2001 . Tans-Kersten . Julie . Huang . Huayu . Allen . Caitilyn . Journal of Bacteriology . 183 . 12 . 3597–3605 . 11371523 . 95236 .
- 10.1128/JB.188.10.3697-3708.2006. Chemotaxis is Required for Virulence and Competitive Fitness of the Bacterial Wilt Pathogen Ralstonia solanacearum . 2006 . Yao . Jian . Allen . Caitilyn . Journal of Bacteriology . 188 . 10 . 3697–3708 . 16672623 . 1482862 .
- 10.1094/PHYTO-95-0136. Behavior of Ralstonia solanacearum Race 3 Biovar 2 During Latent and Active Infection of Geranium . 2005 . Swanson . Jill K. . Yao . Jian . Tans-Kersten . Julie . Allen . Caitilyn . Phytopathology . 95 . 2 . 136–143 . 18943982 .
- 10.1128/JB.00398-07. The Plant Pathogen Ralstonia solanacearum Needs Aerotaxis for Normal Biofilm Formation and Interactions with Its Tomato Host . 2007 . Yao . Jian . Allen . Caitilyn . Journal of Bacteriology . 189 . 17 . 6415–6424 . 17601784 . 1951909 .
- 10.1094/PHP-2009-0313-01-RV. Ralstonia solanacearum Race 3 Biovar 2 Causes Tropical Losses and Temperate Anxieties . 2009 . Champoiseau . Patrice G. . Jones . Jeffrey B. . Allen . Caitilyn . Plant Health Progress . 10 .
- 10.1371/journal.pone.0015853. free . Ralstonia solanacearum Extracellular Polysaccharide is a Specific Elicitor of Defense Responses in Wilt-Resistant Tomato Plants . 2011 . Milling . Annett . Babujee . Lavanya . Allen . Caitilyn . PLOS ONE . 6 . 1 . e15853 . 21253019 . 3017055 . 2011PLoSO...615853M .
- 10.1128/mBio.00114-12. The In Planta Transcriptome of Ralstonia solanacearum: Conserved Physiological and Virulence Strategies during Bacterial Wilt of Tomato . 2012 . Jacobs . Jonathan M. . Babujee . Lavanya . Meng . Fanhong . Milling . Annett . Allen . Caitilyn . mBio . 3 . 4 . 22807564 . 3413399 .
Books
- Book: Prior, Philippe. Allen, C.. Elphinstone, John G.. 1998. Bacterial Wilt Disease: Molecular and Ecological Aspects. Springer Verlag. Berlin.
- 447 pages
. ; Book: 2013 pbk reprint of 1998 1st edition. 978-3-642-08361-7. Prior . Philippe . Allen . Caitilyn . Elphinstone . John . 29 June 2013 .
- Book: Leong, Sally A.. Allen, C.. Triplett, Eric W.. 2002. Biology of Plant-Microbe Interactions. 3. APS Press. St. Paul. 978-0965462525.
- 360 pages
.
- Book: Allen, C.. Prior, P.. Hayward, Alan Christopher. 2005. Bacterial Wilt: The Disease and the Ralston solanacearum Species Complex. APS Press. St. Paul. 0-89054-329-1.
- 508 pages. (APS Press bestseller for 2005)
.
References
- Web site: Caitilyn Allen. Fellows, American Phytopathological Society.
- Web site: Caitilyn Allen, Ph.D.. Biographies, American Society for Microbiology.
- Web site: Caitilyn Allen, Curriculum Vitae. September 2018. Department of Plant Pathology, University of Wisconsin-Madison. (with extensive publication list)
- Web site: Caitilyn Allen. Microtree (Microbiology, academic tree.org).
- Web site: O. N. Allen Professorship. Freedman Lab, University of Wisconsin.
- Web site: Caitilyn Allen honored with ASM's Alice C. Evans Award for Advancement of Women. September 25, 2019. ECALS, University of Wisconsin-Madison.
External links
- Web site: Caitilyn Allen (homepage). Department of Plant Pathology, University of Wisconsin-Madison.
- Web site: Caitilyn Allen. Center for Interdisciplinary French Studies, A French Center of Excellence at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.