U of I hires nematologist to fill first presidential endowed chair position

MOSCOW, Idaho — Nematodes are omnipresent in Idaho soils and can cause millions in annual losses to individual farming operations, yet they often go undetected and overlooked.

Erika Consoli will help bring solutions to Idaho producers as the inaugural holder of the Saad Hafez Presidential Endowed Chair for Nematology, at University of Idaho's Parma Research and Extension Center.

She’ll be the university’s first presidential endowed chair, a designation reserved for endowed positions supported by at least $3 million in funding. The endowment’s namesake, U of I Emeritus Professor Saad Hafez, helped develop U of I into a national leader in nematology and established the university’s modern nematode diagnostics program.

Consoli, who will start at U of I on Nov. 9, began studying nematodes as an undergraduate at the University of Sau Paulo, Brazil. The tiny organisms play a surprisingly large role in agriculture. The roundworms live in soil, water, plants and even animals and are the most abundant animals on Earth. Most are threadlike, unsegmented and microscopic. Some nematodes help farmers by cycling nutrients and controlling pests, while other plant-parasitic species inconspicuously damage crops, spread diseases and reduce yields.

According to a U of I agricultural economist’s 2025 study focused on potato production in Idaho and five other major potato-growing states, nematodes cause $1.8 million in annual lost economic activity per 100 acres of infested fields.

Consoli comes to U of I from Pennsylvania State University in University Park, Pennsylvania, where she’s worked since April 2025 as a postdoctoral scholar.

“This is one of the largest nematology endowments, not only in the U.S., but in the world, demonstrating our commitment toward addressing a pressing need for Idaho agriculture,” said Leslie Edgar, J.R. Simplot Endowed Dean of the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences. “With the help of our stakeholders, we’ve hired an emerging star in the field who brings a breadth of experience and a global perspective.”

Consoli’s experience includes field and greenhouse research, nematode diagnostics, plant and nematode interactions and molecular techniques, with an emphasis on developing practical approaches to nematode management. Consoli has studied and worked in several countries, including Brazil, France, Belgium, Germany and Switzerland.

She was raised on a small farm in Brazil with a diverse rotation that included high-value crops such as grapes, strawberries and coffee.

“Growing up, I often saw the impact of pathogens and pests on my family farm and overheard my parents discussing the best ways to deal with these issues affecting our crops,” Consoli said. “Really early I wanted to be a plant breeder because I believe it’s one of the most effective ways to deal with pests and diseases.”

Consoli graduated with a bachelor’s degree in agricultural engineering from the University of Sao Paulo in the fall of 2014 and continued her study of nematodes, which she began through an undergraduate internship.

“With nematodes, sometimes growers realize something is going wrong in the field, but they can’t see the underlying cause because nematode damage can be hard to catch,” Consoli said. “It’s challenging to bring awareness about nematode issues since they are microscopic, and once they are introduced to a field, management can be difficult.”

Through a dual-enrollment program with her university in Brazil, Consoli went on to earn a master’s degree in agricultural engineering from the School of Engineering in Agronomy, Food and Environment in Lyon, France, followed by a master’s degree in agricultural and environmental nematology from Ghent University in Ghent, Belgium. Consoli moved to Bozeman, Montana, in January 2021, where she earned a doctorate in plant sciences from Montana State University. Her dissertation focused on breeding wheat for nematode resistance. While in Bozeman, she also worked as a postdoctoral research associate with MSU’s Cereal Diseases Laboratory, before taking her current position at Penn State.

The Parma Research and Extension Center is surrounded by a wide variety of crops that are affected by nematodes, providing a meaningful laboratory from which Consoli and her team can research issues impacting a broad segment of Idaho farmers.

“My goal is to provide growers with timely and accurate diagnostic information that can better support nematode management decisions,” she said.

Consoli also plans to work with county Extension educators to conduct a statewide survey of the distribution of nematode species in Idaho farm fields.

Media contact

Erika Consoli
Incoming Saad Hafez Presidential Endowed Chair for Nematology
406-589-9912
erikaconsolli@gmail.com