Dr. Arran Rumbaugh is an Assistant Professor of Cooperative Extension in Enology in the Department of Viticulture and Enology at UC Davis. She earned her B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Nevada, Reno and later her Ph.D. in Agricultural and Environmental Chemistry at UC Davis. She worked with Dr. Anita Oberholster during her doctoral work examining how grapevine red blotch virus affects grape composition and wine quality. Her work investigated ecological techniques to mitigate the impacts for red blotch virus on wine quality.  

Dr. Rumbaugh’s current program addresses pressing industry concerns such as vineyard smoke exposure and grapevine red blotch virus. She centers her work on developing practical tools and protocols that support harvest and winemaking decisions for the industry. Before joining UC Davis in 2026, she was a Research Chemist and Lead Scientist with USDA-ARS in Davis. There, she led a multidisciplinary research and extension program on wildfire smoke exposure in grapes and wine. Her research includes low-cost passive samplers that predict smoke impacts on grapes before harvest, developing rapid screening technologies for smoke exposure, and understanding how grapevines respond to smoke at the molecular level.    
 

Dr. Rumbaugh is a long-standing partner of the West Coast Smoke Exposure Task Force. She authored its roadmap for smoke exposure research and hosted the quarterly meetings from 2022 to 2026. She collaborates with researchers at Oregon State and Washington State, and with partners in Chile, Spain, and Australia. She speaks often to industry audiences, including the Smoke Summit, the Wine Institute, and various vintners organizations.