Plant Biology Alumni Directory
Adaskaveg, Jaclyn: Ph.D. Spring 2023
Mentor(s): Barbara Blanco-Ulate
Dissertation: Physiological and Molecular Processes Driving Fruit Quality during Tomato and Pistachio Fruit Ripening
Amundson, Kirk: Ph.D. Winter 2022
Mentor(s): Luca Comai
Dissertation: Haploid Induction and Somatic Mutations of Potato
Gil, Ximena Anleu: Ph.D. Winter 2024
Mentor(s): Bo Liu
Dissertation: The Preprophase Band of Microtubules for Division Plane Specification in Land Plants
Bautista, Johanna: MS. Spring 2023
Mentor(s): Stacey Harmer, Li Tian
Bekkering, Cody: Ph.D. Summer 2023
Mentor(s): Li Tian
Dissertation: Untangling the Function of Carotenoid ?-Hydroxylases in Tetraploid Wheat: An Exploration of Carotenoid Metabolism at the Interface of Wheat Physiology and Human Nutrition
Brooks, Christopher: Ph.D. Winter 2023
Mentor(s): Stacey Harmer
Dissertation: Transcriptional and post-translational regulation of sunflower heliotropism
Caso, Tara: MS. Fall 2021
Mentor(s): Nitzan Shabek
Dissertation: Reconstitution and characterization of the Pisum sativum strigolactone signaling pathway
Czarnecki, Karo: MS. Fall 2021
Mentor(s): Neelima Sinha
Davis, Destiny: Ph.D. Fall 2020
Mentor(s): Georgia Drakakaki
Dissertation: Dissecting the Cell Biology and Evolution of Land Plant Cell Cytokinesis with Chemical Genomics
Sagawa, Cintia Helena Duarte: Ph.D. Winter 2021
Mentor(s): Abhaya Dandekar
Dissertation: Unbiased proteomics analysis of bacterial diseases of grapevine and walnut caused by Xanthomonadaceae pathogens
Gonzales, Jake: Ph.D. Summer 2023
Mentor(s): Shota Atsumi
Dissertation: Exploring Nontraditional Feedstocks for Renewable Microbial Chemical Production
Gouran, Mona: Ph.D. Spring 2023
Mentor(s): Siobhan Brady
Dissertation: Transcriptional Regulation of Xylem Development and Secondary Cell Wall Composition
Guo, Weier: Ph.D. Spring 2023
Mentor(s): Luca Comai
Dissertation: Chromoanagenesis in plants and the effects of structural variation in poplar
Han, Rongkui: Ph.D. Fall 2021
Mentor(s): Richard Michelmore
Dissertation: Genetic and Genomic Explorations of Flowering Time Components in Lettuce
Hao, Binhan: Ph.D. Spring 2022
Mentor(s): Steven Theg, Abhaya Dandekar
Dissertation: Analysis of the Mechanism of Protein Transport via the Twin-arginine Translocation Pathway
Hinojosa, Oscar: Ph.D. Summer 2022
Mentor(s): Daniel Potter
Dissertation: Systematic studies in the marigold (Tageteae) and thoroughwort (Eupatorieae) tribes (Asteraceae)
Huang, Po-Kai: Ph.D. Summer 2023
Mentor(s): Daniel Runcie
Dissertation: Unveiling the Path to Seasonal Flowering Responses: Exploring the Regulatory Mechanisms of Flowering Synchrony and Long-day Photoperiodic Responses
Jhu, Min-Yao: Ph.D. Summer 2021
Mentor(s): Neelima Sinha
Dissertation: Developing Parasite- Resistant Systems in Tomatoes to Control Infestations of Cuscuta campestris
Jo, Leonardo: Ph.D. Fall 2021
Mentor(s): John Harada
Dissertation: Transcriptional Regulatory Networks Controlling the Development of the Soybean Seed
Kane, Elton: MS. Spring 2024
Mentor(s): Christine Diepenbrock; Grey Monroe
Dissertation: Dissecting the genotypic and environmental basis of kernel compositional traits in pistachio using near-infrared spectroscopy
Li, Chenxin: Ph.D. Summer 2021
Mentor(s): Venkatesan Sundaresan
Dissertation: Genome-wide Redistribution of siRNAs in Rice Gametes and Zygotes
Liechty, Zach: Ph.D. Winter 2022
Mentor(s): Venkatesan Sundaresan
Dissertation: Taxonomies, Functions, and Applications of Rice-Associated Microbiome
Lynagh, Peter: Ph.D. Spring 2022
Mentor(s): Luca Comai
Dissertation: Architecture of DNA rearrangements in Arabidopsis and rice induced by CRISPR-cas9
Markel, Kasey: MS. Spring 2021
Mentor(s): Patrick Shih
Meier, Nathan: Ph.D. Fall 2023
Mentor(s): Savithramma Dinesh-Kumar
Dissertation: Interorganellar Communication During the Plant Innate Immune Response
Moenga, Susan: Ph.D. Fall 2020
Mentor(s): Douglas Cook
Dissertation: Molecular Physiology of Drought Responses in Wild and Cultivated Chickpea
Moore, Zane: Ph.D. Fall 2023
Mentor(s): Judy Jernstedt, David Neale
Dissertation: Somatic Mutation Accumulation in Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens (D. Don) Endl.)
Murphy, Katherine: Fall 2020
Mentor(s): Philipp Zerbe
Dissertation: Form and Function of Diterpenoids in Maize (Zea mays)
Nganga, Mwaura Livingstone: Ph.D. Spring 2022
Mentor(s): Luca Comai
Dissertation: The Genetics of Potato Haploid Induction, and The Potential Evolutionary Significance of Haploid Induction in Natural Plant Populations
Odell, Sarah Ph.D. Fall 2023
Mentor(s): Jeff Ross-Ibarra
Dissertation: Dissection of Quantitative Trait Variation in a Multi-Parent Maize Population
Rodriguez-Zaccaro, Fresia (Daniela): Ph.D. Summer 2022
Mentor(s): Andrew Groover
Dissertation: The Genetic Regulation of Wood Vessel Anatomical Traits in Populus
Rowland, Steven: Ph.D. Summer 2021
Mentor(s): Neelima Sinha
Dissertation: The Role of Leaf Shape and Vascular Density in Modulating Fruit Quality in Tomato Through Starch Mobilization and Sugar Export
Shankle, Kyle: Ph.D. Fall 2023
Mentor(s): Venkatesan Sundaresan
Dissertation: Insights into the Role of OsWOX9A in Zygotic and Somatic Embryogenesis and Improvements to Synthetic Apomixis in Rice
Shipman, Emma: MS. Winter 2024
Mentor(s): Diane Beckles
Silva, Christian: Ph.D. Summer 2021
Mentor(s): Barbara Blanco-Ulate
Dissertation: Untangling the Connections Between Fruit Ripening and Susceptibility to Fungal Pathogens
Sinclair, Rosalie: Ph.D. Winter 2024
Mentor(s): Georgia Drakakaki
Dissertation: Dissection of cell plate dynamics during cytokines and the role of callose in cell plate maturation
Steele, Daniel: Ph.D. Winter 2022
Mentor(s): John Yoder
Dissertation: Systematic studies in the marigold (Tageteae) and thoroughwort (Eupatorieae) tribes (Asteraceae)
Uzawa, Rie: Ph.D. Spring 2021
Mentor(s): John Harada
Dissertation: Regulation of Gene Expression in Soybean Seed Development