Dr. Cañas is Director of the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES) International Programs, Associate Professor and Extension Specialist in Entomology at The Ohio State University (OSU). Dr. Canas is nationally and internationally recognized as an expert in the management of insect pests that attack plants in controlled environments, with more than 25 years of experience. His research provides applied solutions to problems caused by thrips, whiteflies, and mites among others. His areas of expertise include insect management using insecticides and biological control agents, biodemography, and insect‐plant interactions.

Dr. Lopez-Nicora is Assistant Professor and Provost's Early Career Scholar, Soybean Pathology and Nematology in the Department of Plant Pathology at OSU. He has a PhD Plant Pathology and a Master of Applied Statistics from OSU, an MS in Crop Science, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and a BS in Agronomy, National University of Asunción, Asunción, Paraguay. He will provide support in identification of nematode species, and management and metagenomic analysis in Nepal. 

Dr. Sally Miller is a Distinguished Professor of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences in Plant Pathology at OSU and former President of the American Phytopathological Society. Her programs cover both basic and applied research on plant-pathogen characterization, microbial threats and the etiology and management of vegetable crop diseases. She has been an active participant in the USAID IPM (Integrated Pest Management) Collaborative Research Support Program (CRSP)/Feed the Future Innovation Labs since 1994 as lead plant pathologist to IPM programs in Africa, Asia, and Central America. Dr. Miller’s programs currently focus on managing soilborne diseases in greenhouses, high tunnels and open field conditions using innovative methods such as ASD, grafting and biological control. Dr. Miller’ team demonstrated the successful suppression of several soilborne pathogens and weed species using different carbon sources in ASD7,54,55 and additive benefits of ASD with other techniques such as biocontrol, grafting and partially resistant varieties in soilborne disease management32 . Furthermore, Dr. Miller’s team utilized participatory research methods to verify and extend technologies generated under a controlled environment to a commercial scale in the USA and in developing countries. Dr. Miller will serve as a consultant to this project