Rate My Professor Alexander Karasev

Alexander V. Karasev is a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Entomology, Plant Pathology, and Nematology, College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, at the University of Idaho. He received his Ph.D. from Moscow State University, Russia, in 1985, and his B.S. from Moscow Academy of Veterinary Medicine, Russia, in 1979. Karasev joined the University of Idaho in 2006, following faculty positions at Thomas Jefferson University and the University of California, Davis. His academic career centers on plant virology, with expertise in virus evolution, host interactions, and management strategies for economically important crop viruses.

Karasev's research addresses virus-host interactions, pathogenicity factors, detection, strain differentiation, and control of viruses impacting key Idaho crops such as potato, legumes, sugar beet, cereals, and grapevine. A prominent authority on Potato virus Y (PVY), he co-authored "Continuous and emerging challenges of Potato virus Y in potato production" (Annual Review of Phytopathology, 2013), "Genetic diversity of the ordinary strain of Potato virus Y (PVY) and origin of recombinant PVY strains" (Phytopathology, 2011), and "Identification of Potato virus Y strains associated with tuber damage during a recent virus outbreak in potato in Idaho" (Plant Disease, 2008). His laboratory discovered the Snake River virus in alfalfa from the Magic Valley in 2023. Karasev leads major initiatives, including a $5.8 million USDA grant on potato virus threats (2020), and earned a University of Idaho mid-career award in 2013 for PVY contributions. With over 214 publications and more than 7,000 citations, his work influences virus management in the Pacific Northwest potato industry through extension bulletins, webinars like "Potato Viruses: An Update," and roles in multistate research projects.