Jo Anne Crouch is the Research Leader for the USDA-ARS’s Foreign Disease/Weed Science Research Unit (FDWSRU), located on the Fort Detrick U.S. Army installation in Frederick, MD. At the FDWSRU, Dr. Crouch leads a multidisciplinary team of 11 scientists studying numerous foreign and newly emerging plant pathogens (bacteria, fungi, oomycetes, viruses) and weeds that pose threats to U.S. agriculture and the environment. The FDWSRU is the only USDA-ARS facility equipped to safely study hazardous plant pathogens requiring high containment at Biosafety Level 3. The FDWSRU’s unique science and technology base serves not only to address current threats to U.S. agriculture, but is also an essential element in the response to any future biological threats posed by foreign plant pathogens. Dr. Crouch holds a Ph.D. in Plant Biology from Rutgers University and has worked for the USDA-ARS since 2009 in various scientific roles supporting plant health. As a research scientist, she is known for providing knowledge, tools, and resources for identification and detection of numerous fungal and oomycete pathogens causing diseases of many critically important specialty crops, cereals and grasses, and staple food crops.