Principal Investigator
C. Robin Buell
GRA Eminent Scholar Chair in Crop Genomics funded by the Georgia Research Alliance and Georgia Seed Development
Professor, Crop & Soil Sciences

Ph.D., 1992, Utah State University, Logan, UT
M.Sc., 1988, Washington State University, Pullman, WA
B.S., 1985, University of Maryland, College Park, MD
Robin.Buell@uga.edu
Current Members
John Hamilton
Senior Computational Biologist

M.Sc., Biosystems and Informatics, University of Liverpool, UK
B.S. (Hons,) Biochemistry (minor in Physiology), UCLAN, UK
john.hamilton@uga.edu
Brieanne Kniahynycky
Genomics Data Manager

B.S., Genomics and Molecular Genetics, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI
brieanne.k@uga.edu
more info
Joshua Wood
Bioinformatics Analyst

B.S., Genomics and Molecular Genetics, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI joshuacwood@uga.edu more info
Kathrine Mailloux
Research Professional

B.S., Biology (concentration in Marine Biology), University of Georgia, Athens, GA kathrine.mailloux25@uga.edu
Sierra Cloud
Research Professional

B.S., Plant Science Biotechnology, Fort Valley State University, Fort Valley, GA sierra.cloud@uga.edu more info
Sophia Jones
Research Professional

B.S.A., Horticulture, University of Georgia, Athens, GA
slj37816@uga.edu
Natalie Deans
Post-Doctoral Associate

Ph.D., Molecular Genetics, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
B.S., Biology-Cell Biology/Biotechnology, Georgia Gwinnett College, Lawrenceville, GA
natalie.deans@uga.edu
more info
Chenxin Li
Post-Doctoral Associate

Ph.D., Plant Biology, University of California, Davis
B.S., Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, minor Plant Biology, University of California, Davis
chenxin.li@uga.edu
more info
Yi-Wen Wang
Post-Doctoral Associate

Ph.D., Horticulture, University of Georgia, Athens, GA
M.S., Horticulture, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
B.S., Horticulture, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
yiwen.wang25@uga.edu
more info
Julia Brose
Graduate Research
Assistant

Graduate Research Assistant, Ph.D., Plant Biology Program (in progress), Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI
M.Sc., Biological and Biomolecular Sciences, University College Dublin, Ireland
B.S., Biochemistry, University of Missouri-Columbia
brosejul@msu.edu
Anne Frances Jarrell
Graduate Research
Assistant

Graduate Research Assistant, Ph.D., Plant Breeding, Genetics, and Genomics (in progress), University of Georgia, Athens, GA
B.S, Biology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
anne.jarrell@uga.edu
more info
Dionne Martin
Graduate Research
Assistant

Graduate Research Assistant, Ph.D., Genetics (in progress), University of Georgia, Athens, GA
B.S., Biology, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA
dionne.martin@uga.edu
Anita Giabardo
Graduate Research
Assistant

Graduate Research Assistant, Ph.D., Plant Breeding, Genetics, and Genomics (in progress), University of Georgia, Athens, GA
M.Sc., Sustainable Agriculture, University of Padova, Padova, Italy; M.Sc., Crop and Soil Science, University of Georgia, Athens, GA (dual degree program)
B.S., Viticulture and Enology Science and Technology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
anita.giabardo@uga.edu
Anne Pavia
Graduate Research
Assistant

Graduate Research Assistant, Ph.D., Plant Breeding, Genetics, and Genomics (in progress), University of Georgia, Athens, GA
B.S., Biochemistry, minor Biology, Ave Maria University, Florida
anne.collart@uga.edu
Leah Tomey
Graduate Research
Assistant

Graduate Research Assistant, M.S., Plant Breeding, Genetics and Genomics
B.S., Biology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA
leah.tomey@uga.edu
Abby Caceres
Undergraduate Research Assistant

B.S., Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (in progress), University of Georgia, Athens, GA
abigail.caceres@uga.edu
Sreeja Challa
Undergraduate Research Assistant

B.S., Biomedical Physiology (in progress), University of Georgia, Athens, GA
sreeja.challa@uga.edu
Alexandra Gordon
Undergraduate Research Assistant

B.S., Applied Biotechnology with Business minor (in progress), University of Georgia, Athens, GA
alexandra.gordon@uga.edu
Judd Guse
Undergraduate Research Assistant

B.S., Biology (in progress), University of Georgia, Athens, GA
judd.guse@uga.edu
Former Members
Visiting Assistant Professors
Kevin Childs
Kevin Childs

Assistant Professor-Fixed Term, Michigan State University
Norma Constanza Manrique-Carpintero

Genetic Resources Associate Scientist, International Potato Center (CIP)
Visiting Research Associates
Bishwo Adhikari
Bioinformatician, USDA APHIS
Rebecca Davidson
Assistant Professor, National Jewish Hospital
Joseph Evans
Research Scientist, Dupont Pioneer
Grant Godden

Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Florida
Miranda Haus

Assistant Professor, Michigan State University
Vinita Joardar

RefSeq Scientist, National Center for Biotechnology Information
Elsa Gongora-Castillo
Professor, Centro de Investigación Científica de Yucatán
Malali Gowda

Director, National Centre for Biological Sciences
Candice Hirsch
Associate Professor, University of Minnesota
Cory Hirsch
Assistant Professor, University of Minnesota
Jeongwoon Kim
Product Development Analytics Lead - Global Breeding, Bayer
Mercy Kitavi

Research Technology Support Facility, Michigan State University
Dae Kwan Ko

Postdoctoral Associate, Michigan State University
Kin Lau

Bioinformatics Research Scientist, Van Andel Institute
Courtney Leisner

Assistant Professor, Auburn University
Haining Lin

Associate Director, Bioinformatics, Moderna
Alicia Massa

Research Geneticist (Plants), USDA-ARS
Samira Mafi Moghaddam

Genomics Data Scientist, Benson Hill Biosystems
Rachel Naegele
Research Geneticist at USDA-ARS
Lina Quesada-Ocampo

Associate Professor, North Carolina State University
Millicent Sanciangco

Core Facilities Coordinator, Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center
Lindsay Triplett

Agricultural Scientist, Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station
Andrew Wiersma

Plant Breeder, Seedwest
Dongyan Zhao

Breeding Insight Genomics Coordinator, Cornell University
Research Assistants
Emily Crisovan

Jason Cepela
Morgan Chaires

Mike Geoffroy

Melanie Hardin
John Johnston

Kranti Konganti

Steven Lundback

Linsey Newton

Krystle Wiegert-Rininger

Andy Whittam

Brett Whitty

Liza Zaytseva
Visiting Scholars
Ian Beddows |
---|
Abby Bryson |
Andrew Wiersma |
Graduate Students
Sefa Ayten |     | M.S. Institute Of Plant Breeding, Genetics, And Genomics, University of Georgia, Athens, GA |
---|---|---|
Nolan Bornowski |     | Ph.D., Plant Breeding, Genetics, and Biotechnology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI |
Michael Hardigan |     | Ph.D., Plant Breeding, Genetics, and Biotechnology Program, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI |
Genevieve Hoopes |     | Ph.D., Cell and Molecular Biology Program, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI |
Nyasha Mudukuti |     | M.S., Plant Breeding, Genetics, and Biotechnology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI |
Gina Pham |     | Ph.D., Plant Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI |
Undergraduate Students
Daniel Aaron |     | Natalie Fox |     | Joe Korolewicz |     | Fletcher Robbins |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ogie Avramovska |     | Breanne Funk |     | Macy Lockhart |     | Paul Rosemurgy |
Amni Azhar |     | Jessica Goldsworthy |     | Rene Ludwig |     | Catie Scott |
Hannah Bacho |     | Alex Gore |     | Omar Mcgiveron |     | Rachel Shereda |
Kennedy Baldwin |     | Shannon Grimm |     | Keira McHugh |     | Kailey Skarbek |
Laura Bonefeld |     | Emma Guglielmo |     | Ethan Mingoia |     | Elizabeth Straley |
Carolyn Botting |     | Marc Habermann |     | Audree'Auna Morris-Garrett |     | Zain Syed |
Terin Budine |     | Lola Hammond |     | Neil O'Hegarty |     | Christopher Thorburn |
Joe Burke |     | Katie Heslip |     | Michael Obialor |     | Rue Tshamala |
Lemor Carlton |     | Emily Hilliker |     | Lillian Oglesby |     | Mahathi Turlapati |
Averi Childress |     | Rachael Hume |     | Byron Oja |     | Tejaswini Velicheti |
Lauren Chong |     | Erica Humphreys |     | Olawale Olorunfemi |     | Madison Whitehead |
Megan Conway |     | Abby Jensen |     | Logan Pierz |     | Jennifer Willner |
Krista Dunger |     | Ammara Khizar |     | Faerlin Pulido |     | Edmund Wooldridge |
Caleb Fisher |     | Minjee Kim |     | Emma Rice |     | Jemison Yewah |