UTIA plant pathologist selected as Fulbright Distinguished Scholar

Heather Kelly, field crops pathologist in the University of Tennessee Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, has received a prestigious Fulbright Distinguished Scholar Award for two one-month trips to Brazil in 2026 and 2027. This award is administered by the U.S. Department of State and the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board.

Kelly traveled to the University of São Paulo Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture (ESALQ) in June 2026 and will complete the second trip in June 2027, collaborating with international researchers to improve soybean disease management. In February 2027, Kelly will also travel to Brazil alongside Extension agents and graduate students from the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture (UTIA), establishing additional exchange opportunities.

Her research program focuses on diseases affecting Tennessee’s major row crops, including soybeans, cotton, corn, wheat, canola and others. During her time in Brazil, the world’s leading soybean producer, Kelly will use artificial intelligence, bioinformatics and other advanced technologies to model soybean disease epidemics. Because agricultural diseases, pests and pesticide resistance often emerge in Brazil before the United States, these projects will help predict potential threats to Tennessee row crop production.

“Extension is about education and sharing new ideas,” says Kelly. “I’m excited to not only bring knowledge back to Tennessee to share with others, but also to enable colleagues at UT and within Extension to gain firsthand knowledge by studying abroad. Together, we can improve agricultural production for farmers worldwide.”

Kelly has been a faculty member at UTIA for 14 years, following four years at the University of Florida as a biological scientist and graduate assistant. Based at the West Tennessee AgResearch and Education Center in Jackson, Kelly serves as UTIA's Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program lead. She works alongside nine faculty members conducting research in agronomy, entomology, weed management, plant pathology, soil health and pesticide education. Together, they generate and share information that improves crop yields and quality of life for farmers and communities across Tennessee's 95 counties.

Fulbright Distinguished Scholar Awards are the most prestigious appointments in the Fulbright Scholar Program, available to accomplished faculty, researchers, administrators and established professionals who have more than seven years of experience in their discipline or area of expertise. Through these affiliations, they expand their professional networks and often seed future research, innovation and institutional partnerships. Kelly will develop a detailed study-abroad curriculum in Brazil and beyond for future graduate students and Extension agents interested in integrative agricultural and natural resource programs.

Learn more about Kelly’s research at utcrops.com .

The University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture is comprised of the Herbert College of Agriculture, UT College of Veterinary Medicine, UT AgResearch, and UT Extension. Through its land-grant mission of teaching, research and outreach, the Institute touches lives and provides Real. Life. Solutions. to Tennesseans and beyond. utia.tennessee.edu .