Associate Professor, University of Houston Downtown

Lisa Morano earned a B.S.(1990) from the University of California, Irvine in Biology and a Ph.D. (1995) from the University of California, Davis in the Department of Viticulture and Enology.  Her thesis work focused on root distribution patterns, root growth and metabolic responses of rootstocks crosses and wild Vitis species.  In 1995 she worked with the Sonoma County Grape Growers Association in Sonoma, California creating a computer database for growers on soil and macroclimate compatibility data for rootstock/ scion combinations in the area. 

Since 1995 she has taught biology, microbiology, plant physiology, and cell biology at universities in California, Michigan and now in Texas.  Lisa is now an Associate Professor of Biology and Microbiology at the University of  Houston-Downtown where her research interests currently are focusing on the pathogenic bacteria associated with  grapevines.  Specifically, she is focusing on the genetics and epidemiology of the bacterium Xylella fastidiosa, the causative agent of Pierce’s disease.