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Research interests: Microbiology, Phytobacteriology, Plant Pathology, Molecular Genetics, Genomics, Plant-Microbe Interactions, Microbial Ecology

As a microbiologist/molecular biologist at CDPG Unit, USDA-ARS, Dr. Shi's research focuses on Integrated Pest Management (IPM) to treat emerging infectious diseases (EID) in agriculture. His main area of research is grapevine Pierce's disease caused by Xylella Fastidiosa and citrus greening caused by Candidatus Liberibacter Asiaticus which are considered 'cancer' to grapes and citrus worldwide. While he was a research associate at Cornell University, Dr. Shi extended his research by visualization of the behavior of pathogenic bacteria in response to the environmental and chemical factors within a microfluidic chamber created at the Cornell Nanobiotechnology Center (NBTC). In collaboration with USDA and the Citrus Research Board (CRB), Dr. Shi has identified several promising small molecules that inhibit the pathogenicity of pathogenic bacteria on the grapevine and citrus. Dr. Shi has published more than 25 peer-reviewed articles, is the author for several academic books, and is an editor-in-chief for the Journal of Plant Pathology & Microbiology. Dr. Shi has taught various biology courses including plant pathology, biology, and microbiology at California State University - Fresno and Fresno City College.

PhD, Microbiology/Plant Pathology, University of California, Riverside