Maricelis Acevedo

International Research Professor, School of Integrative Plant Science, Plant Pathology and Plant-Microbe Biology Section

About
Publications
Keynote Talks and Seminars
Grant Funded Research

About

Dr. Maricelis Acevedo is an internationally recognized plant pathologist and agricultural development leader whose career was shaped by a foundational experience: growing up as the daughter of a farmer turned agronomist in Puerto Rico who demonstrated that science-based solutions could remove barriers and transform livelihoods. That formative insight drives her work today, connecting advanced research institutions with the national agricultural systems and farming communities they are ultimately meant to serve.

Dr. Acevedo leads national and international research programs focused on transboundary cereal disease threats. Her work sits at the intersection of molecular plant pathology, epidemiology, and global agricultural development. She builds the scientific, analytic, and institutional linkages required to manage shared pathogen risks across regions, production systems, and borders, ensuring that advances in pathogen biology and resistance genetics translate into functioning surveillance systems, coordinated disease response, and durable protection for crop production worldwide.

Research

Fungal pathogens of wheat alone reduce global production by an estimated 10 to 20 percent annually, representing tens of millions of metric tons in lost grain and billions of dollars in economic impact. Across Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas, rusts, Fusarium head blight, and wheat blast continue to erode both yield and grain quality. These threats do not respect borders, and neither can the systems designed to manage them.

Dr. Acevedo’s research addresses this risk at its biological foundation. She studies how cereal pathogen populations are structured, how they evolve under resistance pressure and environmental change, and how virulence moves across regions. By integrating molecular diagnostics, genomic analysis, field-based pathogen surveillance, and epidemiological and spore-dispersal modeling, she develops evidence-based frameworks that connect population genetics directly to breeding decisions and long-term disease management in production systems.

Her work is guided by a clear operational principle: surveillance without action is observation, and research without translation is incomplete. Every analytic framework her team builds is designed to inform a decision, whether that is a breeder selecting resistance genes, a national program prioritizing surveillance targets, or a policy maker allocating resources for crop protection.

Global Leadership

Dr. Acevedo has led major international initiatives to manage transboundary crop disease risk at scale. Her leadership spans research coordination, analytic system design, institutional alignment, and next-generation workforce development across continents.

Borlaug Global Rust Initiative (BGRI). As Director for Science, Dr. Acevedo guides global research coordination and pathogen surveillance for wheat rusts and other major diseases affecting food-vulnerable regions. Under her leadership, the initiative has expanded international data sharing across more than 30 partner countries, driven greater harmonization of resistance gene stewardship strategies, and strengthened the integration of surveillance findings into breeding pipelines worldwide.
Wheat Disease Early Warning Advisory System (DEWAS). As Co-Director, Dr. Acevedo helped expand and modernize one of the world’s most comprehensive crop pathogen surveillance systems, expanding analytic and knowledge-system capacity to protect wheat productivity in East Africa and South Asia. Beyond system architecture, she led national partner capacity building, supporting countries in developing the diagnostic capability, modeling proficiency, and data infrastructure needed to generate and act on surveillance information in real time.
Feed the Future Insect-Resistant Eggplant Partnership. Dr. Acevedo directed this initiative advancing biotechnology implementation and regulatory engagement in South Asia. The program linked research institutions with national agricultural systems and in-country partners, embedding scientific advances within breeding pipelines, regulatory processes, and extension systems rather than leaving them confined to research settings.
Sustainable Management of Agricultural Systems (SuMAS). Dr. Acevedo co-led this USDA-NIFA Hispanic-Serving Institutions Education initiative connecting Cornell with the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez (UPRM), her own alma mater. The program prepared undergraduate and graduate students to develop skills in sustainable agriculture and natural resource management for Puerto Rico, an island that imports more than 80 percent of its food and whose agricultural infrastructure was severely damaged by Hurricanes Irma and Maria. Through an integrated model of coursework at UPRM, intensive summer internships at Cornell and Cornell AgriTech, and experiential rotations with agricultural industries in Puerto Rico, SuMAS built the next generation of agricultural leaders equipped to strengthen the island’s food security and rural development. The initiative reflects Dr. Acevedo’s broader commitment to closing the gap between research capacity and the communities that stand to benefit most from it.

Approach to Science and Leadership

Across her initiatives, Dr. Acevedo’s work is defined by integration: connecting science to surveillance, surveillance to breeding, and breeding to the extension systems and policy environments that determine whether advances actually reach farmers. She operates with a conviction, rooted in her own background, that science carries an obligation beyond discovery. The agricultural systems that feed the world’s most vulnerable populations cannot wait for knowledge to trickle down through slow institutional channels.

Her leadership reflects a consistent philosophy: capacity building is not a side activity but the mechanism through which scientific impact becomes durable. Every partnership she builds prioritizes the development of local expertise, institutional capability, and decision-making autonomy in partner countries and programs. This commitment to science with humanity, knowledge with character, and technology that empowers rather than creates dependency has made her a sought-after leader in international agricultural development and biosecurity.

Training and Mentorship

Training and institutional development are embedded within Dr. Acevedo’s scientific and international leadership. Through collaborative research programs and technical workshops, she strengthens expertise in pathogen surveillance, epidemiology, and resistance breeding while helping national partners translate data into operational decisions.

She has co-led Master’s programs in Global Development that integrate agricultural systems, One Health frameworks, and international policy into graduate education. As a faculty advisor in plant pathology, she mentors graduate students and early-career scientists working at the interface of pathogen biology and global agricultural resilience.

Areas of Expertise

Plant pathology and pathogen surveillance, host-pathogen interactions and resistance genetics, crop improvement and disease resistance breeding, epidemiological and spore-dispersal modeling, molecular diagnostics and genomic analysis, biosecurity and early warning systems, international agricultural development and food security, technology transfer and farmer adoption, capacity building and institutional development, climate adaptation in agricultural systems, sustainable agricultural intensification

Education

PhD (2007)- University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Bio. Sci. with a Specialization in Plant Pathology

MS (2003) - University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez, Agronomy

BS (2000) - University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez, Biology

OTHER TRAINING

System Thinking Certification - eCornell 2024

Product Management Certification- eCornell 2022

Leadership in Science- 2013, 2015

Peer-reviewed publications

Acevedo, M., Zinyengere N., Cichy, K., Meng, S., Tufan, H.A., Pixley, K., Bizikova, L., Isaacs,K., Ghezzi-Kopel, K., Porciello, J. 2020. Evidence Synthesis: determinants of adoption of climate-resilient crops and crop varieties by small-scale producers in low-and middle-income countries. Nature Plants.
Coffman, W.R., Acevedo, M., Evanega Davidson S., Porciello, J., Tufan, H.A., McCandless, L. 2020. VIEWPOINT: Five recommendations for an inclusive and collaborative One CGIAR. 2020. Food Policy Food Policy 91 (2020) 101831.
Kolmer, J.A., Herman, A., Ordoñez, M.E., German, S., Morgounov A., Pretorius, Z., Visser, B., Anikster, Y., and Acevedo, M. 2019. Endemic and panglobal genetic groups, and divergence of host-associated forms in worldwide collections of the wheat leaf rust fungus Puccinia triticina as determined by genotyping by sequencing. Heredity.
Kolmer, J. A., Ordoñez, M. E., German, S., Morgounov, A., Pretorius, Z., Visser, B., Goyeau, H., Anikster, Y., and Acevedo, M. 2019. Multilocus Genotypes of the Wheat Leaf Rust Fungus Puccinia triticina in Worldwide Regions Indicate Past and Current Long-Distance Migration. Phytopathology 109(8):1453-1463.
Aoun, M., Kolmer, J. A., Rouse, M.N., Elias, E., Breiland, M., Denbel Bulbula W., and Acevedo, M*. 2019. Mapping of Novel Leaf Rust and Stem Rust Resistance Genes in the Portuguese Durum Wheat Landrace PI 192051. G3-Genes Genomes Genetics 9(8):g3.400292.2019 DOI: 10.1534/g3.119.400292
Zurn JD, Rouse MN, Chao S, Aoun M, Macharia G, Hiebert CW, Pretorius ZA, Bonman JM, Acevedo M*. 2018. Dissection of the multigenic wheat stem rust resistance present in the Montenegrin spring wheat accession PI 362698. BMC Genomics 9:67
Aoun, M., Kolmer, J. A., Rouse, M.N., Chao, S., Denbel Bulbula W., Elias, E.M., and Acevedo, M*. 2017. Inheritance and Bulked Segregant Analysis of Leaf Rust and Stem Rust Resistance in Durum Wheat Genotypes. Phytopathology 107 (12), 1496-1506
Liu, Z., Zurn, J.D., Kariyawasam, G., Faris, J.D., Shi G., Hansen, J., Rasmussen, J.B., Acevedo, M*. 2017. Inverse gene-for-gene interactions contribute additively to tan spot susceptibility in wheat. Theoretical and Applied Genetics. DOI 10.1007/s00122-017-2886-
Shiaoman C., Rouse, M.N., Acevedo, M., Szabo-Hever, A., Bockelman, H., Bonman, J. M., Elias, E., Klindworth, D., and Xu, S. 2017. Evaluation of Genetic Diversity and Host Resistance to Stem Rust in USDA NSGC Durum Wheat Accessions. The Plant Genome 10 doi:10.3835/plantgenome2016.07.007.1
Aoun, M., Breiland, M., Turner, M.K., Loladze, A., Chao, S., Xu, S., Ammar, K., Anderson, J.A., Kolmer, J.A., and Acevedo, M.* 2016. Genome-wide association mapping of leaf rust response in a worldwide germplasm collection of durum wheat. The Plant Genome. 10.3835/plantgenome2016.01.0008.
Babiker, E.M. Tyler, G., Chao, S., Rouse, M., Acevedo, M., Brown-Guedira, G., Wanyera, R., and Bonman, J.M. 2016. Molecular mapping of stem rust resistance loci effective against the Ug99 race group of the stem rust pathogen and validation of a SNP marker linked to stem rust resistance gene Sr28. Phytopathology 107:208-215.
Kolmer, J.A., Acevedo, M. 2016. Genetically divergent types of the wheat leaf fungus Puccinia triticina in Ethiopia, a center of tetraploid wheat diversity. Phytopathology 106: 380-5.
Mergoum, M., Simsek, S., Zhong, S., Acevedo, M., Friesen, T.L., M., Alamri, M.S., Xu, S., Liu, Z. 2016. ‘Elgin-ND’ Spring Wheat: An New Adapted cultivar to North Central Plains of the USA with High Agronomic and Quality Performance. Plant Registrations 10:130-134.
Babiker, E.M. Tyler, G., Chao, S., Newcomb, M., Rouse, M. N., Jin, Y., Njau, P. Wanyera, R., Acevedo, M., Brown-Guedira, G. Williamson, S., and. Bonman, J. M. 2015. Mapping resistance to the Ug99 race group of the stem rust pathogen in a spring wheat landrace. Theor. Appl. Gen. 128:605-612.
Dugyala, S., Borowicz, P., and Acevedo, M. *. 2015. Rapid protocol for visualization of rust fungi structures using fluorochrome Uvitex 2B and fluorescence microscopy. Plant Methods 11: 54. doi:10.1186/s13007-015-0096-0
Friskop, A.J., Gulya, T.J., Harveson, R.M., Humann, R.M., Acevedo, M. and Markell S.G. 2015. Phenotypic diversity of Puccinia helianthi (Sunflower Rust) in the United States from 2011 and 2012. Plant Dis. 99:1604-1609
Kertho, A., Mamidi, S., Bonman, J.M., Acevedo, M*. 2015. Identification of QTL for stripe rust and leaf rust resistance in winter wheat landraces using association mapping. PloSOne. 10(6): e0129580. doi:10.1371/journal. pone.0129580
Zurn, J.D., Dugyala, S., Borowicz, P., Brueggeman, R., Acevedo, M.* 2015. Unraveling the wheat stem rust infection process on barley genotypes through relative qPCR and fluorescence microscopy. Phytopathology 105:707-712.
Zurn, J.D, Newcomb, M., Rouse, M., Jin, Y., Chao, S., Sthapit, J., See, D., Wanyera, R., Njau, P., Bonman, J.M., Brueggeman, R., Acevedo, M.* 2014. High density mapping of a resistance gene to Ug99 from the Iranian landrace PI 626573. Mol Breeding 34: 871-881.
Mergoum,M., Simsek, S., Zhong, S., Acevedo, M., Friesen, T. L., Singh, P. K., Adhikari, T.B., Alamri, M. S., and Frohberg, R.C. 2014. ‘Velva’ spring wheat: An adapted cultivar to North-Central plains of the United States with high agronomic and quality performance. Journal of Plant Registrations 8:32–37.
Mergoum, M., Frohberg, R.C., Stack, R.W., Simsek, S., Adhikari, T.B., Rasmussen J. B., Zhong, S., Acevedo, M., Alamri, M.S., Singh, P.K., Friesen, T.L., Anderson, J.A. 2013. ‘Prosper’: A high-yielding hard red spring wheat cultivar adapted to the North-Central plains of the USA.J. Plant Reg. 7: 75–80.
Somo, M., Chao, S., Acevedo, M., Zurn, J.D, Cai, X., and Marais, F. 2013. A genomic comparison of homoeologous recombinants of the Lr19 (T4) translocation in Wheat. Crop Science 54: 565–575.
Wang, X., Gross, T., Richards, J, Chia, Y., Druka, A. Kleinhofs, A., Steffenson, B., Acevedo, M. and Brueggeman, R. 2013. The rpg4-mediated wheat stem rust (Puccinia graminis) resistance of barley (Hordeum vulgare) requires the Rpg5 gene, a second NBS-LRR gene and an actin depolymerization factor. MPMI 26:407-18.
Newcomb, M., Acevedo, M., Bockelman, H. E., Brown-Guedira, G., Goates, B. J., Jackson, E.W., Jin, Y., Njau, P., Rouse, M., Singh, D., Wanyera, R., and Bonman, J. M. 2013. Field resistance to the Ug99 race lineage of the stem rust pathogen in spring wheat landraces. Plant Dis. 97:882-890.
Gurung S, Mamidi, S., Bonman, J.M., Jackson, E.W., Del Río, L.E., Acevedo, M., Mergoum, M., and Adhikari, T. 2011. Identification of novel genomic regions associated with resistance to Pyrenophora tritici-repentis races 1 and 5 in spring wheat landraces using association analysis. Theor. Appl. Genet. 123:1029–1041.
Acevedo, M.* Jackson, E. W., Chong, J., Rines, H.W., Harrison S. and Bonman J.M. 2010. Identification and validation quantitative trait loci for partial resistance to crown rust in oat. Phytopathology 100:511-521.
Acevedo, M.* Jackson, E. W., Sturbaum, A., Ohm, H.W., and Bonman, J. M. 2010. An improved method to quantify Puccinia coronata f. sp. avenae DNA in the host Avena sativa. Can. J. Plant. Pathol. 32:215-224
Acevedo Román M., Molina Castañeda, A., Sánchez, J.C. and Beaver, J.S. 2004. Inheritance of normal pod development in bean golden mosaic resistant common bean. J. Amer. Soc. Hort. Sci. 129:549-552.

Book chapter

Acevedo, M.*, Zurn, J. D., Molero, G, Singh, P, He, X., Aoun, M., Juliana, P., Bockleman, H., Bonman, M., El-Sohl, M., Amri, A., Coffman, R., McCandless, L.2018. The Role of Wheat in Global Food Security. Book Chapter In: ‘Agricultural Development and Sustainable Intensification-Technology and Policy Challenges in the Face of Climate (Earthscan food and agriculture). Editor: Udaya Sekhar Nagothu; Abingdon, Oxon; New York, NY. Routledge.

Extension publications

Rickertsen, E. J., Eriksmoen, E., Hanson, B., Martin, G., Pradhan, G., Schatz, B. and Ostlie, M. 2014. North Dakota hard red spring wheat variety trial results for 2014 and selection guide. A-574-14 (Revised).
Ransom J., Elias, E., Acevedo, M., Friesen, T., Zhaohui, L., Manthey, F., Rickertsen, J., Eriksmoen, E., Hanson, B., Pradhan, G., Schatz, B. and Ostlie, M. 2014. North Dakota durum wheat variety trial results for 2014 and selection guide. A-1067-14 (Revised).
Friskop, A., Markell, S., Gulya, T., Halley, S., Schatz, B., Schaefer, J., Wunsch, M., Meyer, S., Kandel, H., Acevedo, M.,Venette, J.,Venette, R. 2012. Sunflower Rust. NDSU Plant Disease Management NDSU Extension Service PP1557.
Markell S., Olson, L., Acevedo, M. 2012. Dry Edible Bean Rust. NDSU Plant Disease Management NDSU Extension Service PP1601.
Ransom J., Elias, E., Acevedo, M., Friesen, T., Manthey, F., McMullen, M., Eriksmoen, E., Hanson, B., Halvorson, M. and Bradbury, G. 2012. North Dakota durum wheat variety trial results for 2011 and selection guide A-1067-12 (Revised)
Ransom J., Mergoum, M., Simsek, S., Acevedo, M., Friesen, T., McMullen, M., Zhong, S., Eriksmoen, E., Halvorson, M., Hanson, B., Martin, G., Bradbury, G. and Schatz, B. 2012. North Dakota hard red spring wheat variety trial results for 2011 and selection guide. A-574-12 (Revised).
Ransom J., Elias, E., Acevedo, M., Friesen, T., Manthey, F., McMullen, M., Eriksmoen, E., Hanson, B., Halvorson, M. and Bradbury, G. 2011. North Dakota durum wheat variety trial results for 2011 and selection guide A-1067 (Revised)
Ransom J., Mergoum, M., Simsek, S., Acevedo, M., Friesen, T., McMullen, M., Zhong, S. Eriksmoen, E., Halvorson, M., Hanson, B., Martin, G., Bradbury, G. and Schatz, B. 2011. North Dakota hard red spring wheat variety trial results for 2011 and selection guide. A-574 (Revised).

Outreach and blog posts

Acevedo, M. 2015. Creating a new generation of rust-resistant wheat. International Innovation. 189:550-53. http://digimag.internationalinnovation.com/launch.aspx?eid=66c657c7-974c-4d32-b195-c6f920b89313
Hickey, L. and Acevedo, M. 2014. Searching for answers in the weeds of wheat fields in Morocco. BGRI Blog. www.globalrust.org/blog/searching-answers-weeds-wheat-fields-morocco
Acevedo, M. 2012. Leaf Rust. Prairie Grains. 120:6-7.

It’s A Rusty World: The Endless Arm Race Against the Wheat Rust Pathogens. University of Nebraska Plant Pathology Department Seminar Series. February 24, 2020.
Transboundary Education: Real World, Real Learning, Real Impact. Keynote address. February 8, 2020. Global Learning in Agriculture-Critical Collaborations, Penn State University.
Global Challenges Require Global Solutions: Responsible Gene Stewardship, 58th All India Wheat and Barley Research Workers’ Meet. August 25th, 2019
Taking it to the Farmer: Developing and Delivering Transformational Agricultural Research for Development. Plant Pathology Seminar Series, Penn State University, March 29th, 2019.
Building Capacity and Gender Equality in The Quest for Global Food Security. New Jersey junior high school UN week seminar: April 4, 2017.
Building Capacity and Hope in The Quest for Global Food Security. Cornell University CIIFAD seminar series: February 14, 2017, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
The future of agriculture: how will you have impact? Keynote address Gordon Research Seminar on CO2 Assimilation in Plants. April 28, 2017. Tuscany, Italy. International.
Building on the BGRI to Deliver Genetic Gain in Wheat. 13th International Wheat Genetic Symposium. April 26, 2017. Tulln, Austria. International
The next 50 years: challenges and opportunities for global wheat production. Caribbean Millers Association Meeting, December 4-5, 2016, Fajardo, Puerto Rico. Invited presentation.
Global Partnerships to Deliver Genetic Gain in Wheat. Keynote address at Latin American Industrial Millers Association, November 13-16, 2016, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
International Research and Collaborations to Achieve Rust Resistance in Wheat. Seminar presentation at the Plant Pathology Seminar Series- PPPMB Unit, CALS. Ithaca, NY. September 28, 2016. Invited presentation.

Feed the Future Insect-Resistant Eggplant Partnership. Funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development, 2022-2026. $10M total. Role: PI and Director.
Delivering Genetic Gain in Wheat Project. Funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and UKAid, 2016-2020. $34.5M total. Role: Associate Director for Science.
The Feed the Future South Asia Eggplant Improvement Partnership in Bangladesh. Funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development, 2015-2020. $6.4M total. Role: PI and Director.