This REU Site award to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, located in Lincoln, NE, will support the training of 10 students for 10 weeks during the summers of 2026-2028. This REU Site in the field of Plant Pathology will provide students with laboratory and field research experiences investigating how pathogens cause diseases in plants and the strategies that plants use to fight those pathogens. Understanding plant diseases is essential to developing targeted strategies to control pathogens and mitigate their economic impact on farmers and to food security worldwide. Students in this REU Site will also participate in campus-wide professional development workshops that will build transferable career and soft skills to support their future career goals. At the end of the program students will present the results of their work at the REU Campus-wide Research Symposium. Assessment of this program will be done through pre- and post-assessment surveys. Students should apply to the REU site using NSF ETAP (Education and Training Application: https://etap.nsf.gov). The training students will receive is aligned with NSF priorities in Biotechnology. Plant diseases have a detrimental effect on crop productivity and associated food supply for humans and animals, and environmental changes can dramatically enhance plant disease outcomes. In addition, plant pathogens can also become threats to national security when deployed as biological weapons. Students participating in this REU Site will conduct research on fundamental aspects of plant diseases in the context of abiotic and biotic stress. Research projects include investigating the evolution and geographic distribution of plant pathogens, dissecting mechanisms of pathogenesis by different groups of plant pathogens and unraveling the molecular and cellular processes operating that plants deploy to recognize and respond to pathogens and other types of stress. Students will be mentored by faculty, postdoctoral researchers and