Student Profile: Ekkachai Khwanbua
As atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) levels continue to rise and global food security becomes increasingly urgent, Iowa State University Ph.D. candidate Ekkachai Khwanbua is working to understand how rising CO2 levels impact plant diseases and how viruses can be repurposed as tools for studying gene function, paving the way for future advances in crop resilience.
“My Ph.D. research focuses on two main challenges,” Khwanbua explained. “First, I study how rising CO2 in the atmosphere influences disease in major crops like soybean and maize. Second, I develop virus-based tools that can be used to modify plant genomes, which helps us better understand and improve plant traits.”
Khwanbua’s research in the Department of Plant Pathology, Entomology and Microbiology (PPEM) sits at the intersection of environmental science and biotechnology. His goal is to find solutions that strengthen global food systems as agricultural conditions evolve.
“Agriculture directly connects science to people’s daily lives,” he said. “Every year, farmers lose large amounts of harvest to pests and diseases, and changing environmental conditions are making these problems even more serious.”
Seeing this challenge, Khwanbua wanted to work on solutions that not only advance our scientific understanding but also support food security and help farmers and plant breeders prepare for the future. Khwanbua’s approach is both innovative and counterintuitive: using viruses, typically viewed as harmful, as tools for genome editing and functional studies.
“Viruses are usually seen as harmful, but in my work, I use them as innovative tools to modify plant genes,” he said. “This lets us test ideas more quickly and opens new possibilities for improving crops.”
By combining plant immunity studies with molecular assays, he can assess how crops respond to environmental change. These techniques help clarify how elevated CO2 levels affect plant health; information that could one day guide more resilient crop breeding.
Like most scientists, Khwanbua says his path hasn’t been without setbacks.
“One of the most rewarding findings has been learning how important persistence and resilience are in science,” he said. “When experiments did not work at first, I learned to troubleshoot and keep going, which led to results I could build on. That experience gave me a better understanding and also helped me become more independent as a scientist.”
His persistence has paid off, not only in data but also in personal growth. Mentoring undergraduate students and participating in Iowa State’s Preparing Future Faculty program have helped him refine his leadership and teaching skills.
“Teaching taught me how to manage my time between research and the classroom,” he said. “Mentoring students helped me develop as a mentor and build teamwork and leadership skills that will be valuable in my career.”
Ultimately, Khwanbua hopes that his research will benefit both farmers and fellow scientists. He says his research aims to help protect crops from diseases at a time when the environment is changing, and to find ways to keep our food supply secure and support farmers in the future. He sees the implications of his research extending far beyond the lab.
“My work looks at how crops respond to rising CO2 and diseases, which are big challenges in agriculture,” he said. “By understanding these responses and developing better tools for studying plants, my research can contribute to solutions that protect yields and reduce losses in a changing environment.”
After completing his Ph.D., Khwanbua plans to pursue a postdoctoral position in academia and eventually become a professor. He would like to both lead research on plant-microbe interactions and also teach and mentor the next generation of scientists. If given another decade to pursue this research, his vision remains clear:
“I would hope to uncover the mechanisms behind how crops respond to environmental change. By understanding what drives these changes, we could use that knowledge to guide crop improvement and make plants more resilient.”
For Khwanbua, science isn’t just about discovery; it’s about connection. “Since starting graduate school, I’ve gained a deeper appreciation of how connected agriculture, science, and global issues really are,” he reflected. “Challenges like diseases and environmental change are not just scientific problems but also have direct impacts on farmers, food security, and everyday life. That’s what keeps me motivated to think about how research can translate into real-world solutions.”