Gitta Coaker is an Associate Professor of Plant Pathology at the University of California, Davis. Dr. Coaker’s research interests focus understanding the interaction between bacterial pathogens and plants at a biochemical level. Her research group studies how the plant innate immune system can actively recognize and respond to pathogenic microorganisms using tomato, citrus, and Arabidopsis as models.

Dr. Coaker joined the University of California, Davis faculty in 2007 and was promoted to Associate Professor in 2012. She has served on numerous federal grant panels (NIH, NSF, and USDA) and is currently on the editorial board for four scientific journals. Dr. Coaker has received a number of awards including the Chancellor’s Fellow Award (2014-2018), an NSF CAREER award (2010) and the Krauss Award for Research Excellence (2004). She completed her Ph.D. at the Ohio State University. She currently serves on the ADVANCE Mentorship and Networking Initiative Committee.