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Scientists & Staff

Jennifer Koch

Research Biologist
Genetics, Biological Control, and Management of Invasive Species
359 Main Road
Delaware, OH, 43015
Phone: 740-368-0188

Contact Jennifer Koch


Featured Publications & Products

  • Mason, Mary E.; Herms, Daniel A.; Carey, David W.; Knight, Kathleen S.; Faridi, Nurul I.; Koch, Jennifer. 2011. Update on exotic ash collection for hybrid breeding and survey for EAB-resistance in native North American species. In: McManus, Katherine A; Gottschalk, Kurt W., eds. 2010. Proceedings. 21st U.S. Department of Agriculture interagency research forum on invasive species 2010; 2010 January 12-15; Annapolis, MD. Gen. Tech. Rep. NRS-P-75. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station: 104.
  • Koch, Jennifer L.; Carey, David W.; Mason, Mary E.; Nelson, C. Dana; Barakat, Abdelali; Carlson, John E.; Neale, David. 2011. Development of molecular tools for use in beech bark disease management. In: McManus, Katherine A; Gottschalk, Kurt W., eds. 2010. Proceedings. 21st U.S. Department of Agriculture interagency research forum on invasive species 2010; 2010 January 12-15; Annapolis, MD. Gen. Tech. Rep. NRS-P-75. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station: 38-40.
  • Mason, Mary E.; Krasowski, Marek; Loo, Judy; Koch, Jennifer. 2011. Comparison of protein profiles of beech bark disease-resistant or beech bark disease-susceptible American beech. In: McManus, Katherine A; Gottschalk, Kurt W., eds. 2010. Proceedings. 21st U.S. Department of Agriculture interagency research forum on invasive species 2010; 2010 January 12-15; Annapolis, MD. Gen. Tech. Rep. NRS-P-75. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station: 105.
  • Koch, Jennifer L.; Mason, Mary E.; Carey, David W.; Knight, Kathleen; Poland, Therese; Herms, Daniel A. 2010. Survey for tolerance to emerald ash borer within North American ash species. In: Michler, Charles H.; Ginzel, Matthew D., eds. 2010. Proceedings of symposium on ash in North America; 2010 March 9-11; West Lafayette, IN. Gen. Tech. Rep. NRS-P-72. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station: 60.
  • Koch, Jennifer L.; Carey, David W.; Mason, Mary E.; Islam-Faridi, M. Nurul. 2010. Overcoming obstacles to interspecies hybridization of ash. In: Michler, Charles H.; Ginzel, Matthew D., eds. 2010. Proceedings of symposium on ash in North America; 2010 March 9-11; West Lafayette, IN. Gen. Tech. Rep. NRS-P-72. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station: 41-44.

Publications & Products

National Research Highlights

Cracking the Case of the Beech Leaf Disease Mystery

Year: 2020

Mysterious symptoms, referred to as beech leaf disease (BLD), have caused decline and mortality of American beech in Ohio since first observed in Lake County, OH, in 2012. By 2019 the disease spread to 13 other counties in Ohio, four other states, and Canada. A consortium of scientists from federal, state, and local government agencies in the United States and Canada, including the Northern Research Station (NRS), worked together to solve this mystery.

Caption: Hagmel Vega Fontanez [intern with the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) Program] and Isabel Sanchez [intern from National Hispanic Environmental Council (NHEC) Youth Conservation Corp (YCC)] place EAB eggs onto ash trees in the greenhouse at the Delaware, OH research lab to determine the level of susceptibility/resistance to EAB.; Caption: Photo taken with a 40 X dissecting microscope at the Delaware, OH research facility 8 weeks after EAB egg hatch. In the center of the light colored tissue is a small dark, oblong-shaped EAB larva that failed to survive in the ash host tree, a possible indication that the tree may be resistant to EAB.

Scientists Join Forces to Save Ash Trees Facing Intercontinental Threats

Year: 2020

Ash trees across Europe are currently under attack by a fungal disease known as ash dieback disease while in the United States the emerald ash borer is killing ash trees at an unprecedented rate. An international team of scientists have worked for several years to find genes that are responsible for pest and pathogen resistance in trees.

Hiawatha National Forest personnel work together to set up a test for scale-resistance on a beech tree as part of a training workshop run by FS researchers. Genetic markers identified in recent studies may allow resistant trees to be selected without using the type of testing shown here, which can take up to a year.

Finding beech bark disease resistant American beech trees: It’s in the genes!

Year: 2017

A Forest Service scientist and her collaborators have identified genetic markers that may help accelerate breeding and production of American beech trees with resistance to beech bark disease, a disease that has spread throughout New England, continuing as far south as Tennessee and as far west as Wisconsin, causing significant mortality.

Summer research assistants Joe Becker and Andrew Wade help take care of the thousands of ash trees and seedlings that are part of the breeding program at the Northern Research Station in Delaware, OH. Jennifer Koch, U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service.

The Key to Rescuing Green Ash from Emerald Ash Borer is in the Genes

Year: 2016

Hundreds of genes in lingering ash trees have been identified that may help researchers understand the defense responses they use to defend themselves against emerald ash borer (EAB). Lingering ash and the genes they possess that help them combat EAB hold the key to saving green ash from extinction.

Interns put EAB eggs on trees: Summer interns set up bioassay experiment by taping EAB eggs to test trees. USDA Forest Service

Green Ash Trees That Survive Beetle Infestation Pass on Their Resistance Through Propagation and Planting

Year: 2015

Among the tens of millions of trees killed by the emerald ash borer (EAB), researchers have found a small number of trees that survived their assault. Tests show that these surviving ash trees are more resistant to EAB than their counterparts. Breeding these select trees may produce trees with an even greater ability to survive EAB infestation and will provide seedlings to restore ash in areas destroyed by EAB.

Photo taken with a 40 X dissecting microscope at the Delaware, Ohio, research facility eight weeks after EAB egg hatch in September 2014. In the center of the light colored tissue is a small dark, oblong-shaped emeral ash borer larva that failed to survive in the ash host tree, a possible indication that the tree may be resistant to the beetle. David W. Carey, USDA Forest Service

Researchers From the U.S. Forest Service and the United Kingdom Join Forces To Save Ash Trees Facing Intercontinental Threats

Year: 2014

Ash trees across Europe are currently under attack by a fungal disease known as ash dieback disease, while here in the United States, they are being killed by the emerald ash borer at an unprecedented rate. In today's global economy there is risk that these ash menaces could cross the Atlantic Ocean and become a dual threat, causing the complete devastation of ash resources on both continents. Forest Service researchers are part of an international team that was recently awarded over 1.2 million dollars by the United Kingdom's Tree Health and Biosecurity Initiative to pioneer the application of a new method for finding genes that are responsible for pest and pathogen resistance in trees.

Last modified: Saturday, February 4, 2023