Dr. Wilfred Vermerris
Director
wev@ufl.edu
Google Scholar | ResearchGate
Research interests include Cell Wall Development, Bioenergy, and Genomics

Dr. Nian Wang
Graduate Coordinator
nianwang@ufl.edu
Google Scholar | ResearchGate
Research interests include Citrus, Huanglongbing, Liberibacter, Xanthomonas, Genome editing

Emily Murphy
PMCB Coordinator
emurphy1@ufl.edu 
Responsible for overall program coordination, including recruitment, admissions, student services, academic advising and administration

Faculty

Fredy Altpeter
Agronomy

altpeter@ufl.edu 
Google Scholar | Research Gate
Research Interests: Genome Editing, Homologous Recombination, Crop Biotechnology and Breeding

W. Brad Barbazuk
Biology

bbarbazuk@ufl.edu 
Google Scholar | Research Gate
Research Interests: Bioinformatics, Comparative and Functional Genomics, RNA Splicing

Gilles Basset
Horticultural Sciences

gbasset@ufl.edu 
Google Scholar | Research Gate
Research Interests: Systems Biology, Metabolic Biochemistry, Biological Networks

Elias Bassil
Tropical Research and Education Center 

ebassil@ufl.edu 
Google Scholar | Research Gate
Research Interests: Stress Physiology, Ion Homeostasis, Endomembrane Trafficking

Kevin Begcy
Environmental Horticulture

kbegcy.padilla@ufl.edu 
Google Scholar | Research Gate
Research Interests: Reproductive Development, Stress Biology, Biotechnology

Gordon Burleigh
Biology

gburleigh@ufl.edu 
Google Scholar
Research Interests: Computational Phylogenetics

Alan Chambers
Tropical Research and Education Center

ac@ufl.edu 
Google Scholar | Research Gate
Research Interests: Tropical Fruit, Genetics, Breeding

David Clark
Environmental Horticulture

geranium@ufl.edu 
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Research Interests: Floriculture, Biotechnology, Plant Breeding

Thomas Colquhoun
Environmental Horticulture

ucntcme1@ufl.edu 
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Research Interests: Biotechnology, Floriculture, Biochemistry

John Davis
FFGS - Forestry

jmdavis@ufl.edu 
Google Scholar
Research Interests: Functional Genomics, Disease Resistance, Tree Species

Bryndan Durham
Biology

b.durham@ufl.edu 
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Research Interests: Marine Microbiology

Robert J. Ferl
Horticultural Sciences

robferl@ufl.edu 
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Research Interests: 14-3-3's, Space Biology, Chromatin Structure

Jessie Fernandez
Microbiology and Cell Science

jessie.fernandez@ufl.edu 
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Research Interests: Biochemistry, Genetics, Cell Biology, Microscopy, Molecular Biology, and General Microbiology

Svetlana Folimonova
Plant Pathology

svetlana@ufl.edu 
Google Scholar | Research Gate
Research Interests: Plant Pathogens-Host Interactions, Disease Management, and Citrus Greening

Kevin Folta
Horticultural Sciences

kfolta@ufl.edu 
Google Scholar | Research Gate
Research Interests: Biotechnology, Photoperiod, Strawberry

Dean W. Gabriel
Plant Pathology

dgabr@ufl.edu 
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Research Interests: Citrus Greening and Canker, Disease Resistance, Microbial Genetics

Fred Gmitter, Jr. 
Citrus Research and Education Center

fgmitter@ufl.edu 
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Research Interests: Breeding and Genetics, Citrus, Genomics

William Gurley
Microbiology and Cell Science
 
wgurley@ufl.edu 
Google Scholar
Research Interests: Transcriptional Regulation, Heat Shock Response

Andrew Hanson
Horticultural Sciences

adha@ufl.edu 
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Research Interests: Metabolic Biochemistry, Metabolic Engineering, Plant-Prokaryote Phylogenomics

Bernard Hauser
Biology

bahauser@ufl.edu 
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Research Interests: Seed Development, Stress Physiology, Arabidopsis, Soybean

Jeff B. Jones
Plant Pathology

jbjones@ufl.edu 
Google Scholar
Research Interests: Microbial Pathogenesis, Virulence, Disease Management

Jeongim Kim
Horticultural Sciences

jkim6@ufl.edu 
Google Scholar | Research Gate
Research Interests: Plant Secondary Metabolism, Phytohormones, Stress Physiology

Matias Kirst
FFGS - Forestry

mkirst@ufl.edu 
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Research Interests: Genomics, Bioenergy, Quantitative Genetics, Forestry

Karen Koch
Horticultural Sciences

kekoch@ufl.edu 
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Research Interests: Sugar Metabolism, Kernel Development, Functional Genomics

Seonghee Lee
Gulf Coast Research and Education Center

seonghee105@ufl.edu 
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Research Interests: Strawberry Genetics, Disease Resistance, Functional Genomics

Tong Geon Lee
Gulf Coast Research and Education Center

tongeonglee@ufl.edu 
Google Scholar | Research Gate
Research Interests: Bioinformatics, Genome Biology, Tomato

Amit Levy
Citrus Research and Education Center

amitlevy@ufl.edu 
Google Scholar | Research Gate
Research Interests: Phloem, Plasmodesmata, Pathogen Movement, Cell Biology, Citrus

Tie Liu
Horticultural Sciences

tieliu@ufl.edu 
Google Scholar | Research Gate
Research Interests: Postharvest Genomics, Potato Tuber Dormancy, Stress Biology, Meristem Development

Samuel Martins
Plant Pathology

sj.martins@ufl.edu 
Google Scholar | Research Gate
Research Interests: Plant Bacteriology, Microbiome, Biocontrol

Donald R. McCarty
Horticultural Sciences

drm@ufl.edu 
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Research Interests: Functional Genomics, Seed Development, Transposon Mutagenesis

Stuart McDaniel
Biology

stuartmcdaniel@ufl.edu 
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Research Interests: Genetic of Adaptation and Reproductive Isolation

Lauren McIntyre
Molecular Genetics and Mircobiology

mcintyre@ufl.edu 
Google Scholar
Research Interests: Genetic Genomics, Complex Phenotypes

Goeffrey Meru
Tropical Research and Education Center

gmeru@ufl.edu 
Google Scholar | Research Gate
Research Interests: Cucurbit Breeding, Genetics and Genomics

Zhonglin Mou
Microbiology and Cell Science
 
zhlmou@ufl.edu 
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Research Interests: Plant Defense, Salicylic Acid, Systemic Acquired Resistance (SAR)

Patricio Munoz
Horticultural Sciences

p.munoz@ufl.edu 
Google Scholar | Research Gate
Research Interests: Blueberry, Breeding and Genomics, Quantitative Genetics

S. Swathi Nadakuduti
Environmental Horticulture

nadakuduti@ufl.edu 
Google Scholar | Research Gate
Research Interests: Gene-editing, CRISPR Systems, Plant Specialized Metabolism

David G. Oppenheimer
Biology

oppenhe@ufl.edu 
Google Scholar | Research Gate
Research Interests: Plant Cell Shape, Cytoskeleton, Membrane Trafficking

Anna-Lisa Paul
Horticultural Sciences

alp@ufl.edu 
Google Scholar | Research Gate
Research Interests: Space Biology, Transcriptomics, Chromatin Structure

Gary Peter
FFGS - Forestry

gfpeter@ufl.edu 
Google Scholar | Research Gate
Research Interests: Wood Development, Bioenergy, Tree Breeding

Bala Rathinasabapathi
Horticultural Sciences

brath@ufl.edu 
Google Scholar | Research Gate
Research Interests: Metabolic Adaptations to Stress, Functional Genomics of Stress Adaptations

Marcio F.R. Resende
Horticultural Sciences

mresende@ufl.edu 
Google Scholar | Research Gate
Research Interests: Maize Genetics, Genomics, Molecular Breeding, Quantitative Genetics

Jeffrey Rollins
Plant Pathology

rollinsj@ufl.edu 
Google Scholar | Research Gate
Research Interests: Host-Pathogen Interactions, Developmental Biology, Signal Transduction

Doug Soltis
Biology - FL Museum

dsoltis@ufl.edu 
Google Scholar | Research Gate
Research Interests: Angiosperm Phylogeny, Genome Doubling, Phylogeography

Pam Soltis
Biology - FL Museum

psoltis@ufl.edu 
Google Scholar | Research Gate
Research Interests: Plant Phylogenetics, Polyploidy, Gene Family Evolution

Wen Yuan-Song
Plant Pathology

wsong@ufl.edu 
Google Scholar | Research Gate
Research Interests: Kinase, Ubiquitin, Protein-Protein Interaction

Denise Tieman
Horticultural Sciences

dtieman@ufl.edu 
Google Scholar | Research Gate
Research Interests: Tomato Flavor, Fruit Aroma

C. Eduardo Vallejos
Horticultural Sciences

vallejos@ufl.edu 
Google Scholar
Research Interests: Genetics and Genomics, Genetics of Disease Resistance

Wilfred Vermerris
Microbiology and Cell Science

wev@ufl.edu 
Google Scholar | Research Gate
Research Interests: Cell Wall Development, Bioenergy, Genomics

Catalin Voiniciuc
Horticultural Sciences

cvoiniciuc@ufl.edu 
Google Scholar | Research Gate
Research Interests: Synthetic Biology, Plant Cell Walls, Polysaccharides

Jianping Wang
Agronomy

wangjp@ufl.edu 
Google Scholar | Research Gate
Research Interests: Genomics, Molecular Breeding, Bioenergy

Nian Wang
Citrus Research and Education Center

nianwang@ufl.edu 
Google Scholar | Research Gate
Research Interests: Citrus, Huanglongbing, Liberibacter, Xanthomonas, Genome editing

Meixia Zhao
Microbiology and Cell Science

meixiazhao@ufl.edu 
Google Scholar | Research Gate
Research Interests: Comparative genomics and epigenomics, Meiotic recombination in maize, Soybean immunity

Emeritus Faculty

Students

Name	Photo	Bio
Lorenzo Bizzio		Lorenzo received his B.Sc. degree in Biology with a minor in Biotechnology from the University of Florida. Lorenzo is a Ph.D. student in Dr. Patricio Munoz's blueberry lab.
Jade Boyd		Jade received her B.A. in Biology from New Mexico State University. Jade is a second-year Ph.D. student in Dr. Matias Kirst's lab.
Xi Cheng		Xi received her M.S. from Purdue University and B.S. from Northwest A&F University. She is a first-year student in the rotation phase of her studies.
Alec Chin-Quee		Alec is a fourth-year Ph.D. student in Dr. Don McCarty's lab. Alec received his B.Sc. in Plant Science with honors from the University of Florida.
Julie Cromie		Julie is a third-year student who joined the UF Blueberry lab with Dr. Patricio Munoz. Julie received her B.Sc. in Microbiology and Cellular Biology from the University of Florida.
Gabriella Dickinson		Gabi received her Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa. She is a second-year Ph.D. student and in Dr. Gilles Basset's lab.
Lushan Ghimire		Lushan received her M.S. in Horticultural Sciences from UF and her B.Sc. in Agricultural Sciences from IAAS, Tribhuvan University, Nepal. Lushan is a third-year student in the Blueberry Lab with Dr. Munoz.
Hope Hersch		Hope received a double major in Biochemistry Molecular Biology and Plant Biology from Michigan State University. Hope is currently a fifth-year Ph.D. student working in Dr. Settles' lab.
Talia Jacobson		Talia received her B.S. in Genetics from Purdue University. She is a first-year student in the rotations phases of the program.
Megan Kelly		Megan received a Bachelors in Biological Sciences and French from Rutgers, University, New Brunswick, NJ. Megan is now a fifth-year Ph.D. student in Dr. Wilfred Vermerris' lab.
Emma Kunkel		Emma has a B.Sc. in Biology from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. She is a first-year student in the rotations phase of the program.
Larissa Laforest		Larissa received her B.Sc. in Biology: Biotechnology from UF. Larissa is a third year student working in Dr. Nadakuduti's lab.
Makou Lin		Makou received his B.S. in Biology and a minor in Chemistry and Mathematical Biology from the University of Central Florida. He is a first-year student in Dr. Jeongim Kim's lab.
Hui Liu		Hui has a Masters in Natural Product Chemistry from Shandong Univ., Jinan and a Bachelor in Pharmaceutical Engineering from Shandong Agricultural Univ., Taian, China. Hui is now a fifth-year Ph.D. student with Dr. Don McCarty.
Nye Lott		Nye is a third-year Ph.D. student working with Dr. Bryndan Durham's lab. Nye received a B.S. in Environmental Horticulture and a B.Sc. in Biology from Virginia Tech.
Gabriela Madrid Caviedes		Gabriela received a B.Sc. in Biochemistry from the University of Chile. Gabriela is a fourth-year Ph.D. student working in the UF Sweet Corn lab with Dr. Marcio Resende.
Nadia Mourad		Nadia received a B.Sc. in Microbiology & Cell Science, minors in Bioinformatics & Studio Art. Nadia is a third year student working in Dr. Koch's lab.
Noe Perron		Noe has a Masters of Science and Engineering in Agricultural and Environmental Sciences from ISARA, France. Noe is a second-year Ph.D. student working in Dr. Matias Kirst's lab.
Jesus Preciado		Jesus has a Bachelor of Science in Plant Science from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. Jesus is now a fifth-year Ph.D. student working in Dr. Tie Liu's lab.
Hunter Strickland		Hunter has a Bachelor of Science in Applied Biology with a minor in Plant & Environmental science from Louisiana Tech University. Hunter is a second-year Ph.D. student working in Dr. Rob Ferl and Anna-Lisa Paul's labs.
Saddie Vela		Saddie has a B.Sc. in Botany with a Molecular, Cellular, and Genomic focus from Oregon State University. Saddie is a fourth-year Ph.D. student who is working in Dr. Wilfred Vermerris' lab.
Yichun Wang		Yichun received her M.Sc. degree in Agronomy from UF and her B.Sc. in Horticultural Science from Shenyang Agricultural University. She is a first-year student in the rotations phase of her studies.
Emily Wolf		Emily received her Bachelor of Science in Biology with a minor in Chemistry from Slippery Rock University. Emily is currently a fouth-year Ph.D. student in Dr. Wilfred Vermerris' lab.
Tianxiao Yang		Tianxiao received his M.Sc. and B.Sc. degrees from Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou, China. Tianxiao is a fourth-year Ph.D. student in Dr. Mark Settles' lab.
Mingxi Zhou		Mingxi has a B.Sc. in Horticultural Science, minor in Plant Molecular & Cellular Biol. from UF & Shandong Agricultural. Mingxi is a third-year Ph.D. student in Dr. Zhonglin Mou's lab.

Alumni

• View PMCB alumni by graduating year