Biography

Dr. Brett Lane was raised on his family’s farm in northwest Indiana where he worked as a crop scout for a local fertilizer company and was a member of his high school’s FFA soil judging team. His passion for soil microbial ecology took off when a cool, wet spring led to a severe outbreak of damping off disease, prompting questions about the biological processes driving plant health in agricultural systems.

He received his B.A. in Biochemistry from Hanover College (2014), M.S. in Botany and Plant Pathology from Purdue University (2017), and Ph.D. in Plant Pathology from the University of Florida (2021). His postdoctoral research at the University of Minnesota focused on the ecology of rhizosphere microbes, soil carbon dynamics, and the eco-evolutionary dynamics which lead to the development of disease suppressive soils.

Dr. Lane joined the Agronomy Department in the Spring of 2026. His research seeks to use a multi-omics approach to uncover the mechanisms by which plants influence soil microbial communities to improve soil health and crop productivity.

Education:

Ph.D. Plant Pathology, University of Florida, 2021

M.S. Botany and Plant Pathology, Purdue University, 2017

B.A. Biochemistry, Hanover College, 2014