| Name/Degree/Advisor |
Dissertation/Current activity |
Ananta Acharya
Ph.D. - Summer 2014
Advisor: Charles Brummer and Katrien Devos
Employment: Corteva Agriscience |
Dissertation: Genetic Diversity, Population Structure and Association Mapping of Biofuel Traits in Southern Switchgrass Germplasm |
Lincoln Adams
M.S. - Fall 2021
Advisor: Cecilia McGregor
Employment: USDA |
Thesis: Genetic control of gummy stem blight resistance and rind thickness in watermelon |
Laxman Adhikari
Ph.D. - Fall 2018
Advisor: Ali Missaoui
Employment: Kansas State University (Department of Plant Pathology) |
Dissertation: Dissecting the Genetic Basis of Various Adaption Traits in Alfalfa Using QTL Mapping |
Yanina Alarcon
M.S. - Fall 2014
Advisor: Wayne Parrott
Employment: UT Southwestern Medical Center |
Dissertation: Identification of Aluminum Tolerance in the Model Legume Medicago Truncatula |
Brooks Arnold
M.S. - Spring 2020
Advisor: Zenglu Li
Employment: Bayer |
Thesis: Mining QTL for Elevated Protein and Sucrose Contents from Diverse Soybean Germplasm |
Sefa Ayten
M.S. - Summer 2022
Advisor: Robin Buell
Employment: Research Scientist, Central Research Institute for Field Crops (CRIFC) |
Thesis: Genome Analysis of the Medicinal Plant Teucrium marum (Lamiaceae) |
Nicole Bachleda
M.S. - Fall 2015
Advisor: Zenglu Li
Employment: University of Georgia, Li Lab |
Dissertation: Molecular Breeding for Improvement of Fatty Acids in Soybean |
Carolina Ballen Taborda
Ph.D. - Fall 2019
Advisor: Soraya Bertioli & David Bertioli
Employment: Clemson |
Dissertation: Exploration of Arachis stenosperma as a source of nematode resistance for peanut |
Gaurab Bhattarai
Ph.D. - Fall 2023
Advisor: Patrick Conner
Employment: Postdoctoral Researcher @ USDA, Byron GA |
Dissertation: Genetic Analysis of Nut Shape and Scab Resistance in Pecan |
Lucy Bell
M.S. - Spring 2021
Advisors: Wayne Parrott & Andrea Sweigart
Employment: Vestaron |
Thesis: Development of Tissue Culture and Transformation Strategies for the Genus Mimulus |
Adam Bray
M.S. - Spring 2015
Advisor: Wayne Parrott
Employment: Bayer |
Dissertation: Characterizing Soybean Resistance to the Kudzu Bug |
Nino Brown
Ph.D. - Fall 2017
Advisor: Peng Chee
Employment: University of Georgia |
Dissertation: Improving cotton fiber quality using exotic germplasm, interspecific sources, and marker-assisted introgression |
Mary Campbell
M.S. - Fall 2016
Advisor: Zenglu Li
Employment: Olam Spices |
Dissertation: Improvement of southern stem canker innoculation methods and collection and characterization of D. aspahalthi isolates |
Katherine Catching
M.S. - Fall 2020
Advisor: Wayne Parrott
Employment: Plant Biology Research Associate II, Pattern Ag |
Thesis: Engineering Disease Resistance to Dollar Spot in Seashore Paspalum |
Lovepreet Chahal
M.S. - Spring 2021
Advisor: Peggy Ozias-Akins & Joann Conner
Employment: Ga Genomics & Bioinformatics Core |
Thesis: Engineering apomixis in crop plants: Bypassing meiosis and fertilization |
Timothy Chappell
Ph.D. - Summer 2023
Advisor: Wayne Parrott
Employment: Syngenta |
Dissertation: Dissecting the genetic basis of soybean-Agrobacterium compatibility |
Martha Carolina Chavarro
Ph.D. - Spring 2018
Advisor: Scott Jackson
Employment: Bayer |
Dissertation: Whole Genome Re-sequencing of Cultivated Peanut to Enable Genetic and Genomic Resources for Seed Quality Improvement |
Silas Childs
M.S. - Summer 2017
Advisor: Zenglu Li
Employment: West Virginia University |
Thesis: Discovery, characterization and utilization of Rpp genes for resistance against soybean rust |
Josh Clevenger
Ph.D. - Summer 2016
Advisor: Peggy Ozias-Akins
Employment: Hudson Alpha |
Dissertation: Development of Genomics Resources for Arachis hypogaea and Profiling the Genetic Regulation of Pre-harvest Aflatoxin Resistance |
Ruyue Ding
M.S. - Spring 2016
Advisor: Ali Missaoui
|
Dissertation: Manipulating Summer Dormancy to Improve Forage Yield and Seasonal Distribution |
top
|
|
Douglas Eudy
Ph.D. - Spring 2016
Advisor: Katrien Devos
Employment: Bayer |
Dissertation: Genetic Control of Salt Tolerance Traits in Seashore Paspalum (Paspalum vaginatum Sw.)
Currently: Discovery Breeder, Monsanto |
Leigh Ann Fall
M.S. - Fall 2017
Advisor: Cecilia McGregor
Employment: University of Illinois |
Thesis: Marker development for Fusarium wilt race 1 resistance and quantitative trait loci (QTL) mapping of fruit traits in watermelon |
Zach Fleming
M.S. - Summer 2023
Advisor: Esther van der Knaap
Employment: Ph.D. student, University of Nebraska at Lincoln |
Dissertation: Quantification of Hydrogen Peroxide and Glutathione Levels in Blossom End Rot and Resistance and Susceptible Tomato |
Nathan Friday
M.S. - Summer 2010
Advisor: Steve Knapp
Employment: Mid-Georgia Courier |
Dissertation: Genetics of Anthocyanin Biosynthesis in Sunflower |
Rupesh Gaire
M.S. - Fall 2015
Advisor: Dayton Wilde |
Dissertation: Allelic Variation in Candidate Genes for Ornamental Traits in Blueberry |
Rattandeep Gill
M.S. - Summer 2013
Advisor: Peggy Ozias-Akins
Employment: University of Guelph |
Dissertation: Phenotyping Methods and QTL Mapping for Late Leaf Spot Resistance in Cultivated Peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) |
Davis Gimode
Ph.D. - Fall 2019
Advisor: Peggy Ozias-Akins
Employment: Genetic Gains, ICRISAT Nairobi |
Dissertation: Genotypic and phenotypic dissection of key traits in peanut with emphasis on the chromosome segment substitution line (CSSL) population |
Winnie Gimode
Ph.D. - Summer 2020
Advisor: Cecilia McGregor
Employment: Alliance Bioversity-CIAT, Cali, Columbia |
Dissertation: Fine-mapping of a major quantitative trait locus (QTL) controlling flowering time and QTL mapping for gummy stem blight resistance in watermelon |
Thomas Gottilla
M.S. - Fall 2020
Advisor: Katrien Devos
Employment: Sound Agriculture |
Thesis: Investigation into the Genetic Mechanisms of Salt Tolerance in Seashore Paspalum |
Austin Grimshaw
M.S. - Summer 2013
Advisor: Brian Schwartz
Employment: Rutgers University Dept of Plant Biology & Pathology |
Dissertation: ACCase herbicide resistance in bermudagrass |
Katherine Sandlin Hardigree
M.S. - Fall 2010
Advisor: Cecilia McGregor
Employment: University of Georgia van der Knaap lab |
Dissertation: Genetic Mapping in Citrullus Lanatus |
Kathryn Harman
M.S. - Summer 2009
Advisor: Jerry Johnson
Employment: Bayer |
Dissertation: Hessian Fly Resistance of Triticum Durun Derivived Solf Winter Wheat |
Donna Harris
Ph.D. - Summer 2014
Advisor: Roger Boerma
Employment: University of Wyoming |
Dissertation: Identification, Mapping & Evaluation of Unique Sources of Soybean Rust Resistance |
Douglas Heckart
M.S. - Spring 2009
Advisor: Paul Raymer Ph.D. - Fall 2014
Advisor: Wayne Parrott
Employment: Pairwise Plants |
Dissertation: Obtaining Sethoxydim Resistance in the Turfgrass Seashore Paspalum (Paspalum vaginatum)
Dissertation: Screaming Past Gene Silencing with Silent Mutations |
Raegan Wiggins Holton
M.S. - Spring 2021
Advisor: Peggy Ozias-Akins
Employment: Perfect Peanut Company |
Thesis: Evaluation of peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) genotypes for reproductive/morphological traits and aflatoxin contamination resistance |
Aaron Jacob Hoskins
Ph.D. - Spring 2011
Advisor: Roger Boerma
Employment: Corteva |
Dissertation: Genetic mapping of soybean resistance genes to frogeye leaf spot in five Chinese plant introductions and efficiency of early generation selection for low phytate soybean lines |
Jacob Hoyle
M.S. - Fall 2017
Advisor: Wayne Parrott
Employment: Living Carbon |
Thesis: An expanded toolkit for genome editing |
top
|
|
Razi Ibrahim
Ph.D. - Fall 2023
Advisor: Ali Missaoui
Employment: Controlled Environmental Scientist at Bayer |
Dissertation: Developing 2,4-D resistant white clover through mutation breeding and recurrent selection |
top
|
|
Thomas Jacobs
Ph.D. - Fall 2014
Advisor: Wayne Parrott
Employment: VIB-UGent Ctr f/Plant Systems Biology |
Dissertation: Molecular Tools for Soybean Functional Genomics |
Matthew Johnson
Ph.D. - Summer 2020
Advisor: Jason Wallace
Employment: GaXtracts |
Dissertation: Developing & Implementing Genomic Resources for the Improvement of Millets & Hemp |
Yuji Ke
Ph.D. - Fall 2019
Advisor: Peggy Ozias-Akins
Employment: PSB-VIB Ghent University |
Dissertation: Novel insights into the parthenogenetic potential of natural apomictic buffelgrass from the perspective of egg apparatus transcriptome |
Zachary King
Ph.D. - Summer 2015
Advisor: Roger Boerma
Employment: Syngenta |
Dissertation: Discovery and Deployment of Soybean Rust (PHAKOSPORA PACHYRHIZI) Resistance (RPP) Genes |
Walid Korani
Ph.D. - Summer 2017
Advisor: Peggy Ozias-Akins
Employment: STgenetics |
Dissertation: Genetic Factors and Biochemical Pathways Regulating Post-harvest Aflatoxin Contamination in Cultivated Peanut
|
Carmen Kraus
M.S. - Summer 2019
Advisor: Esther van der Knapp
Employment: National Park Service, Grand Canyon |
Dissertation: Ovate and its Associates: the Interactions of Tomato OVATE with TRMs and TON1 |
Pawan Kumar
Ph.D. - Fall 2012
Advisor: Peng Wah Chee
Employment: Bayer |
Dissertation: Genetic Evaluation of Exotic Chromatins from Two Obsolete Interspecific Introgression Lines of Upland Cotton |
Kendall Lee
Ph.D. - Spring 2023
Advisor: Ali Missaoui
Employment: HudsonAlpha |
Dissertation: Characterization of the tall fescue endophyte
|
Chandler Levinson
Ph.D. - Spring 2021
Advisor: Peggy Ozias-Akins
Employment: Bayer |
Dissertation: Characterization of allotetraploids cross-compatible to cultivated peanut |
Leynar Eduardo Leyton Naranjo
Ph.D. - Spring 2021
Advisor: Carol Robacker
Employment: University of Georgia |
Dissertation: Evaluation of Abelia species for self-fertility, crossability and new traits for breeding |
Xuehui Li
Ph.D. - Spring 2009
Advisor: Charles Brummer
Employment: North Dakota State University, Department of Plant Sciences |
Dissertation: Genetic Investigations of Heterosis and Inbreeding Depression in Diploid and Tetraploid Alfalfa |
Yupeng Li
Ph.D. - Fall 2015
Advisor: Scott Jackson
Employment: Eli Lilly & Co. |
Dissertation: Nodulation Gene Networks in Legumes |
Zhitong Li
M.S. - Fall 2016
Advisor: John Ruter
Employment: Auburn University |
Dissertation: Polyploidy Induction and Tissue Culture Techniques in Hibiscus moscheutos |
Limei Liu
Ph.D. - Spring 2012
Advisor: Peng Wah Chee
Employment: Virginia Tech |
Dissertation: Genetic Mapping and Quantitative Trait Locus (QTL) Analysis of Root-knot Nematode Resistance in Pearl Millet |
top
|
|
Evan McCoy
M.S. - Fall 2017
Advisor: Wayne Parrott
Employment: GSD Seed |
Thesis: Hidden in plain sight: untangling an unexpected pyramid of caterpillar resistance QTLs |
Samuel McDonald Ph.D. - Spring 2023
Advisor: Zenglu Li
Employment: Bayer |
Dissertation: Genetic mapping of frogeye leaf spot resistance and breeding for improved seed composition in soybean |
Ethan Menke
Ph.D. - Spring 2022
Advisor: Zenglu Li
Employment: Syngenta |
Dissertation: Advancing Soybean Breeding Through Disease Resistance, Climate Resilience, and High-Throughput Phenotyping |
Mark Miller
Ph.D. - Spring 2023
Advisor: Zenglu Li
Employment: Bayer |
Dissertation: Predictive breeding to accelerate genetic gain of soybean (Glycine max)
|
Rasyidah Mohamad Razar
Ph.D. - Spring 2020
Advisor: Ali Missaoui
Employment: Malaysian Rubber Board |
Dissertation: QTL analysis of winter dormancy and biomass quality traits in switchgrass |
Brian Nadon
Ph.D. - Spring 2019
Scott Jackson
Employment: USDA-ARS |
Dissertation: The Evolution of Gene and Genome Duplication in Soybean |
Natacha Namphengsone
M.S. - Summer 2022
Advisor: Esther van der Knaap
Employment: Inari |
Thesis: The Role of OFPs and TRMs in Organogenesis |
Sandra Odonkor
M.S. - Spring 2015
Advisor: Katrien Devos
|
Dissertation: Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL) Mapping of Seed Weight, Pericarp Color, Bristling & Seed Shattering in Setaria
Currently: PhD student (Plant Breeding), WACCI - University of Ghana |
Gary Orr
M.S. - Fall 2020
Advisor: Wayne Parrott
Employment: Living Carbon |
Thesis: Genetic engineering of tall fescue for improved turf traits |
Maria Ortega
Ph.D. - Spring 2016
Advisor: Wayne Parrott
Employment: University of Georgia |
Dissertation: Cloning and Using a QTL for Insect Resistance in Soybean |
Alexandra Ostezan
Ph.D. - Summer 2022
Advisor: Zenglu Li
Employment: Corteva |
Dissertation: Genetic Improvement of Soybean for Resistance to Soybean Cyst Nematode |
Jubilee Park
M.S. - Fall 2021
Advisor: Wayne Parrott
Employment: Inari Agriculture |
Thesis: Using Bladderwort DNA to improve transgenic plants |
Rajiv Parvathaneni
Ph.D. - Fall 2015
Advisor: Katrien Devos
Employment: Vivanta Seeds |
Dissertation: Isolation, Characterization and the Dynamic Structure of the Pearl Millet d2 Dwarfing Gene
Currently: Post-doc, Donald Danforth Plant Science Center |
Jinesh Patel
M.S. - Summer 2011
Advisor: Peng Wah Chee |
Dissertation: Mutation breeding for fiber quantity and quality |
Lucky Paudel
M.S. - Summer 2018
Advisor: Cecilia McGregor
Employment: Ph.D. student at Western Sydney University, Australia |
Thesis: Refining of the egusi locus and mapping of seed coat genes in watermelon |
Emily Pierce
M.S. - Fall 2012
Advisor: Wayne Parrott
Employment: Arcadia Science |
Dissertation: Genetic Engineering of Keto Carotenoid Production in Soybean |
Liz Prenger
M.S. - Fall 2018
Advisor: Zenglu Li
Employment: University of Missouri |
Thesis: Genetic improvement of soybean seed composition |
Monica Prias-Blanco
M.S. - Spring 2021
Advisor: Wayne Parrott
Employment: Research Assistant, Research Center of Sugar Cane (Cenicaña), Colombia |
Thesis: Development of next generation transformation protocols for switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) |
Jason Prothro
M.S. - Fall 2010
Advisor: Cecilia McGregor
Employment: Corteva |
Dissertation: Genetic Mapping of Phenotypic and Quantitative Trait Loci Underlying Horticulturally Important Traits in Watermelon |
top
|
|
Benjamin Rambo-Martin
M.S. - Spring 2009
Advisor: Wayne Parrott
Employment: Lead Health Scientist (Informatics) Centers for Disease Control |
Dissertation: Assessing RNA Interference Gene Targets of Root-Knot Nematodes |
Alexis Ramos
M.S. - Summer 2018
Advisor: Esther van der Knaap
Employment: Auburn University |
Thesis: Mining QTL for fruit weight quality traits in uncharacterized tomato germplasm |
Juan Rey
Ph.D. - Summer 2011
Advisor: Roger Boerma and Charles Brummer
Employment: Corteva |
Dissertation: Silverleaf Sunflower (Helianthus Argophyllus, Torrey and Grey) in Sunflower Breeding: From Comparative Mapping to the Genetics of Salt Tolerance in the Species. |
Rafael Reyno-Podesta
Ph.D. - Spring 2012
Advisor: Roger Boerma
Employment: Nat'l Institute of Agricultural Research, Uruguay |
Dissertation: Improving Acid and Aluminum Tolerance in Alfalfa Breeding and Genetics |
Conner Ryan
M.S. - Fall 2018
Advisor: Donglin Zhang
Employment: Holden Forests and Gardens |
Thesis: Genetic Diversity and Boxwood Blight Susceptibility of Sarcococca Lindley |
Muhammet Sakiroglu
Ph.D. - Spring 2009
Advisor: Charles Brummer
Employment: Kafkas University, Turkey |
Dissertation: Population Structure, Genetic Diversity, Phylogenetic Analyses, and Association Mapping of Biofuel Traits in Wild Diploid Alfalfa (Medicago Sativa L.) Accessions |
Manoj Sapkota
Ph.D. - Spring 2023
Advisor: Esther van der Knaap
Employment: Post Doc, Breeding Insight |
Dissertation: Elucidating the Genetic Basis of Flavor Volatiles in Tomato |
Suraj Sapkota
Ph.D. - Fall 2019
Advisor: Mohamed Mergoum
Employment: USDA Post Doc |
Dissertation: Genetics of leaf rust disease resistance in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) |
Zachary Shearin
Ph.D. - Spring 2011
Advisor: Roger Boerma
Employment: Syngenta |
Dissertation: Facilitating Breeding for Resistance to Southern Stem Canker and Elevated Seed Oleic Acid Content in Soybean |
Gurjot Sidhu
M.S. - Spring 2021
Advisor: Peggy Ozias-Akins & Joann Conner
Employment: University of Georgia Research Tech, Devos Lab |
Thesis: Parthenogenesis in Rice: Regulating Induction and Determining the Effect of Egg-Cell Ploidy Level |
Renan Silva e Souza
Ph.D. - Fall 2023
Advisor: Zenglu Li
Employment: Postdoctoral Researcher @ Hudson Alpha |
Dissertation: Genetic Improvement of Seed Composition and Fine Mapping of the Rust Resistance Gene Rpp6 in Soybean
|
Chandler Sprueill
M.S. - Fall 2021
Advisor: Peggy Ozias-Akins
|
Thesis: Computational analysis of Peanut Pod Filling Based on Comparative Analysis of Genotypes |
Clint Steketee
M.S. - Summer 2014
Advisor: Paul Raymer
Ph.D. - Spring 2018
Advisor: Zenglu Li
Employment: Syngenta |
Thesis: Characterization of Dollar Spot Resistance in Seashore Paspalum
Dissertation: Discovery of Germplasm and Genomic Regions to Improve Soybean Drought Tolerance |
Ben Stewart-Brown
Ph.D. - Spring 2018
Advisor: Zenglu Li
Employment: Bayer |
Dissertation: Genetic and Genomic Analyses for Improvement of Soybean Yield |
Luellen Swayzer
M.S. - Spring 2018
Advisor: Brian Schwartz
Employment: Turf Company |
Dissertation: Heritability Estimates of Morphological Characteristics in Centipedegrass Populations |
Nathan Taitano
Ph.D. - Spring 2020
Advisor: Esther van der Knaap
Employment: BASF Vegetable Seeds: Nunhems USA, Inc. |
Dissertation: Exploring Genetic Diversity Underlying Fruit Diversity in Tomato and Pepper |
Rebecca Michiko Tashiro
M.S. - Spring 2009
Advisor: Wayne Parrott
Employment: Ball Seed |
Dissertation: From the Field to the Flowerbed to the Lab: Ornamental White Clover Breeding and Leaf Trait Mapping |
Trent Tate
M.S. - Fall 2012
Advisor: Paul Raymer
Employment: Peak Plant Genetics |
Dissertation: Characterization of Acetyl Coenzyme A Inhibitor Resistance in Turfgrass and Grassy Weeds |
Yasin Topcu
Ph.D. - Fall 2021
Advisor: Esther van der Knaap
Employment: University of Georgia |
Thesis: Mapping of quality traits in tomato, the underlying causes of blossom-end rot and leaf color |
Dung Tran
M.S. - Fall 2017
Ph.D. - Summer 2022
Advisor: Zenglu Li
Employment: Brigham and Women's Hospital |
Thesis: Evaluation of soybean germplasm and identification of quantitative trait loci conferring soybean cyst nematode resistance
Dissertation: Genetic mapping of QTL for and exploring the interaction of root microbiome with soybean cyst nematode resistance |
Samantha Wan
M.S. Fall 2023
Advisor: Peng Chee
Employment: PHD Graduate student @ IPBGG UGA |
Thesis: Fiber Quality Improvement of Upland cotton (Gossypium Hirsutum L.) through Interspecific Introgression
|
Na Wang
M.S. - Spring 2012
Advisor: Paul Raymer |
Dissertation: Reproductive behavior of seashore paspalum (Paspalum vaginatum Sw.) |
Caleb Warrington
Ph.D. - Spring 2011
Advisor: Roger Boerma
Employment: Georgia Seed Development |
Dissertation: QTL mapping and optimum resource allocation for enhancing amino acid content in soybean |
top
|
|
