His academic research[3] focuses on the evolution, genomics, and ecology of plant pathogens in the genus Phytophthora and management of the diseases they cause. This pathogen group includes some of the most costly diseases affecting crops and ecosystems.[4][5] These pathogens have well characterized Effectors to circumvent plant host recognition that in the genus Phytophthora include RxLR, Crinkler and other small secreted proteins.[6][7][8][9] Grünwald is best known for providing novel insights into how plant pathogens emerge, methods to study pathogen evolution, particularly when populations are clonal, and characterizing the evolutionary history of Phytophthora pathogens. In collaboration with one of his students he developed the concept of heat trees to show differential abundance of species (or other hierarchical data like gene expression) in a tree format.[10]
2015 Ruth Allen Award,[1]American Phytopathological Society. This award is named after the first female plant pathologist, Ruth F. Allen, and given for outstanding, innovative research contribution that has changed, or has the potential to change, the direction of research in any field of plant pathology.
^Kamoun, S.; Furzer, O.; Jones, J. D. G.; Judelson, H. S.; Ali, G. S.; Dalio, R. J. D.; Roy, S. G.; Schena, L.; Zambounis, A.; Panabières, F.; Cahill, D.; Ruocco, M.; Figueiredo, A.; Chen, X. R.; Hulvey, J.; Stam, R.; Lamour, K.; Gijzen, M.; Tyler, B. M.; Grünwald, N. J.; Mukhtar, M. S.; Tomé, D. F. A.; Tör, M.; Van Den Ackerveken, G.; McDowell, J.; Daayf, F.; Fry, W. E.; Lindqvist-Kreuze, H.; Meijer, H. J. G.; et al. (2015). "The Top 10 oomycete pathogens in molecular plant pathology". Molecular Plant Pathology. 16 (4): 413–434. doi:10.1111/mpp.12190. PMC6638381. PMID25178392.
^Haas, B. J.; Kamoun, S.; Zody, M. C.; Jiang, R. H. Y.; Handsaker, R. E.; Cano, L. M.; Grabherr, M.; Kodira, C. D.; Raffaele, S.; Torto-Alalibo, T.; Bozkurt, T. O.; Ah-Fong, A. M. V.; Alvarado, L.; Anderson, V. L.; Armstrong, M. R.; Avrova, A.; Baxter, L.; Beynon, J.; Boevink, P. C.; Bollmann, S. R.; Bos, J. I. B.; Bulone, V.; Cai, G.; Cakir, C.; Carrington, J. C.; Chawner, M.; Conti, L.; Costanzo, S.; Ewan, R.; et al. (2009). "Genome sequence and analysis of the Irish potato famine pathogen Phytophthora infestans". Nature. 461 (7262): 393–8. Bibcode:2009Natur.461..393H. doi:10.1038/nature08358. PMID19741609.
^Birch, P. R. J.; Rehmany, A. P.; Pritchard, L.; Kamoun, S.; Beynon, J. L. (2006). "Trafficking arms: Oomycete effectors enter host plant cells". Trends in Microbiology. 14 (1): 8–11. doi:10.1016/j.tim.2005.11.007. PMID16356717.