Barbara Valent

Barbara Valent (Chem; PhD’78) was elected to the National Academy of Sciences for her study of wheat blast disease at Kansas State University. Wheat blast is a fungus capable of destroying entire fields that has been found in low and middle income countries around the world, where wheat is often the primary source of protein. Barbara has led a research team that has studied how the fungus works, which can help with containment and keep it from spreading to the U.S.