Dr. Kai-Shu Ling is a Research Plant Pathologist (Virology) for the United States Department of Agriculture–Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS). He received his Ph.D. in Plant Pathology (Virology) from Cornell University in 1995. He has been a Research Plant Pathologist at the USDA-ARS in Charleston, SC, since 2004, leading a productive program in the detection, characterization, and management of emerging and important viral diseases of vegetable crops, including the emerging tomato brown rugose fruit virus and cucumber green mottle mosaic virus. His research has helped advance some basic science as well as some practical solutions on viral disease diagnosis, virus detection, breeding for resistance, and disease management using effective disinfectants for the sanitization and disinfection of worker's hands, tools, and machineries in greenhouses. Dr. Ling has published over 100 peer-reviewed articles and served as a mentor for many international visiting scholars, postdoctoral associates, and college students over the years.