Amy O. Charkowski

Amy Olymbia Charkowski is an American plant pathologist and Professor of Plant Pathology at Colorado State University. She was elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2020.

Early life and education Charkowski was born in Madison. She stayed close to home for her undergraduate studies, focussing on biochemistry and plant pathology at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Whilst she had long been interested in biology, it was during her undergraduate degree that she first worked in a plant virology laboratory. She has recalled visiting the hydroponic farms at Epcot with her family. After graduating she worked at the United States Department of Agriculture research service where she worked on food safety research. As part of her role at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, Charkowski directs the Wisconsin Seed Potato Certification program, which oversees the certification of seeds produced by farmers in Wisconsin. These diseases attack potato crops in Wisconsin, causing potatoes to rot. Charkowski has sequenced the genome of the Pectobacterium taxa, allowing systematic investigations into the role of the bacterial genes that are up-regulated in rotating tubers. 2020 Elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science

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Personal life Charkowski is married. She is a passionate explorer, and takes part in hiking, biking and kayaking.