Distinction - Student Activities & Honors
Graduate Student Association
Our vibrant group of graduate students have clearly demonstrated their excellence in research and engagement with the profession. Since May of 2021, the Graduate Student Association has been led by Sam McDonald who, along with other officers, has organized regular and diverse social activities including:
- July cookout at the CAGT with the PBGG Practicum class
- August cookout - tiki theme
- Kickball game at the IM fields
- Tailgate at the CAGT for Georgia vs Kentucky game
- Pool party at the Bertioli’s
- September cookout - Oktoberfest theme
- Miller Mingle with PBIO and Plant Path GSAs
- Griffin Mingle
- Ice Skating at the Classic Center
Other fun activities that were not face-to-face included No-Shave November with a $150 donation to the No-Shave Foundation on behalf of PBGG students, a Holiday door decorating contest, won by the Mitchum lab but with participation from multiple campuses, and quarterly photo contests with themes such as “Research in Action” and “Micro & Macro - The Smallest and Largest Things We Work With.” Social activities were supported in part by funds raised through sales of T-shirts with a design created by our own students.
GSA officers (as of May 2021)
- President: Sam McDonald
- Vice President: Kendall Lee
- Secretary/Treasurer: Qian Feng
- Journal Club Chair: Manoj Sapkota
- Social Chair: Walt Dauksher
- Webmaster: Samuele Lamon
- Fundraising Chair: John Bagwell
- GSA Delegate: Madhav Subedi
Professional Activities
Professional activities organized by students included Journal Club, that has had record turnout after journal club chair, Manoj Sapkota, worked to incorporate additional elements, and the fall Seminar Series with seminars, roundtable discussions, and networking dinners with speakers from industry and academia.
In fall 2021, invited speakers were:
- Caleb Warrington from Sesaco Corporation, a sesame breeder and PBGG alum
- Isabel Vales, a potato breeder from Texas A&M University
- Matthew Clark, a grape breeder from the University of Minnesota
- Sindhuja Sankaran, a biological systems engineer from Washington State University
This excellent group of speakers provided insight into breeding of different crops for performance in different regions of the U.S.
In addition to science talks, the GSA organized a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion workshop led by the UGA Office of Institutional Diversity. Raising DEI awareness is essential to creating an inclusive learning environment.
Students gathered for the GSA-CAGT Cookout.
Students spend time together at the Miller Mingle.
Student-designed PBGG t-shirt.
Fellowships, Scholarships, and Research Awards
PBGG students are serious about professional development and have taken the initiative to submit grant proposals and compete for awards that strengthen their research and bring recognition.
These include:
Federally Funded Fellowships
- National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship to Kelly Goode
- 2021-2024 FFAR Fellowship to Shreena Pradhan
National or State Society and Association Awards
- Gerald O. Mott Meritorious Graduate Student in Crop Science, Crop Science Society of America, to Alexandra Ostezan
- Georgia Seed Association Scholarship to Kendall Lee
- NAPB Borlaug Scholarships to Renan Silva e Souza and Brianna Cheek
University Fellowships
- Graduate School Master’s Fellowship to Sydney Webb
Grants
- John Ingle Plant Breeding Innovation grants to
- Sam McDonald - Design and Implementation of a Seed Drilling Device to Support Marker-assisted Soybean Breeding
- Manoj Sapkota - Fine Mapping and Implementation of Novel Loci Underlying Fruit Weight in Tomato
- Jordan Knapp-Wilson - Imaging and Data Analysis of Peach Tree Architecture
Soybean plant from Sam McDonald's study of a seed drilling device to support marker-assisted soybean breeding.
Making Tomatoes Bigger. Manoj Sapkota is Studying the Genes Left Behind during Tomato Domestication.
A 3D reconstructive model of a peach tree found at Dempsey Farms. These quantitative structural models (QSMs) were created from point clouds generated from terrestrial LiDAR scans (tLiDAR). These QSMs allow us to gather biometric data without the need to manually collect it in the field.
CAES or IPBGG Awards and Scholarships
- 2nd place in the E. Broadus Browne Award for Outstanding Ph.D. Research to Sam McDonald - Read complete story here
- Roger and Cindy Boerma Plant Breeding Excellence Scholarship to Manoj Sapkota
- Glenn and Helen Burton Feeding the Hungry Scholarship to Renan Silva e Souza
Research and Presentation Excellence
Research and presentation excellence has been amply demonstrated with the recognitions received by PBGG students at a number of national as well as University events.
- Three students, Mark Miller, Ivy Tran and Alexandra Ostezan received poster presentation awards at the Soybean Breeders Workshop.
- Raegan Holton won 3rd place in the MS research oral presentations at the American Peanut Research and Education Society annual meeting which had the greatest number of graduate student presentations ever in 2021
- Jordan Knapp-Wilson won 3rd place in the virtual National Association of Plant Breeders Ph.D. poster competition.
- Two of our students, Vincent Pennetti and Shreena Pradhan, and one postdoc, Ashley Snouffer won poster awards at the Plant Center Retreat which brings together faculty and students from cellular and molecular sciences across UGA. This proves that while competition is stiff at national meetings, it is just as fierce within our own institution.
Videos
Although publication is an expected output from PBGG research, several of our students have communicated to an expanded audience through videos. The short videos below display the amazing talent of our students while describing impacts of plant breeding research:
Nematode or Plant? A Nutrient Battle
Chicken Sandwiches, Barbecue and a Strong Body! How Genetic Diversity and Plant Breeding can Satisfy Your Needs
