Deborah Neher
Science Chair; Professor, Dept. of Plant and Soil Science, University of Vermont
Deb, professor in the Department of Plant and Soil Science at the University of Vermont, is a soil ecologist that uses population and community ecology approaches to developing biological indicators for environmental monitoring of soil. She led the department for 14 years until resigning from administration in 2018 to focus on applying her research to help farmers and inform policymakers. During the past decade, her research focus shifted toward biological communities in compost and their role in disease suppression by natural mechanisms. In 2015, the Soil Ecology section of the Ecological Society of America established an award in her name as the Deborah A. Neher Career Award in honor of her founding the section and serving as its first chairperson. In 2017, she was bestowed the Career Service Award offered by the Soil Ecology Society. Dr. Neher brings 35 years of experience as a researcher, educator, and graduate student mentor. She teaches courses in soil ecology, compost ecology and management, and professional development. Prior to University of Vermont, she held faculty positions in biology and environmental science at University of Toledo, and plant pathology at North Carolina State University where she taught courses in applied biostatistics, plant disease epidemiology, and introductory biology. She has published more than 100 peer reviewed articles across 30 journals and 25 book chapters on topics of biological indicators of soil, ecotoxicology and biotechnology risk assessment, climate change and soil biological crusts, plant pathology and sustainable agriculture. During her career, she has given more than 250 research presentations and earned over $11 million in extramural grant funds from National Science Foundation, US Department of Agriculture, US Department of Energy and US Environmental Protection Agency. She earned a B.S. in Environmental Science from McPherson College, a M.S. in plant biology from University of Illinois at Urbana, and a Ph.D. in plant pathology from University of California at Davis.