Dr. Joseph Opoku obtained his BSc. in Agriculture Science from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana, and an MPhil in Crop Science from the University of Ghana. He received his Ph.D. in Plant Pathology from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech). He worked as a post-doc at the USDA Aflatoxin Biocontrol Lab in Tucson, AZ, where he focused on the ecology and population dynamics of aflatoxigenic and non-aflatoxigenic Aspergillus flavus in soil. Currently, he is a member of the NCAUR, MPM Unit and works as a Research Plant Pathologist. His research focuses on determining how environmental variables, production practices, and diversity of mycotoxigenic fungi affect disease severity and mycotoxin contamination. He hopes to contribute to the development of epidemiological models to predict the severity of mycotoxin contamination in corn.