Dr. Wintermantel is a research plant pathologist and virologist with USDA-ARS in Salinas, California. His research focuses on vector-transmitted viruses affecting vegetable agriculture, with an emphasis on transmission, molecular and biological characterization of plant viruses, and other studies critical to understanding virus epidemiology and the development of virus management strategies. He is known for his extensive research characterizing factors driving epidemiology and influencing emergence and transmission of viruses affecting vegetable crops and sugarbeet, particularly whitefly-transmitted viruses. Dr. Wintermantel was one of the leaders of the team that sequenced the genome of the whitefly, Bemisia tabaci, and has worked closely with scientists in Africa, South America, and Asia toward improving knowledge and management of the whitefly and whitefly-transmitted viruses. He has been chair of the International Committee for Plant Virus Epidemiology since 2019, is co-founder and co-chair of the Emerging Viruses in Cucurbits Working Group (EVCWG), established in 2022, and has been Research Leader and Location Coordinator for the USDA-ARS in Salinas, CA since 2021.

Dr. Wintermantel received his B.A. in biology from Central College in Iowa, and his Ph.D. in Plant Pathology from the University of Missouri. He spent four years as a postdoctoral researcher at Cornell University, prior to joining ARS.