UF/IFAS plant breeders actively contribute to shaping the next generation of highly skilled plant breeders. Although our interdisciplinary Ph.D. degree in plant breeding officially began in the fall of 2021, our faculty has a longstanding legacy of successfully training and graduating accomplished breeders over several decades. These graduates have played integral roles in advancing productive and innovative plant breeding programs, both in the United States and internationally, within the public and private sectors. Our alumni continue to be in high demand among breeding teams in universities across the US and other countries, as well as by private companies and global institutions. Some have even assumed faculty positions at UF. Explore examples of current alumni positions over the years, updated as of March 2021.
Alumni
| Alumni Name | Current Position (as of March 2021) | Advisor/Co-Advisor | Graduation Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lopez, Jasmine | Production Manager, Syngenta Flowers, Lehigh Acres, FL | Hutton, Sam | 2021 |
| Acharya, Janam P | Agronomist and Plant Breeder, Forage Breeding and Genetics Lab, Agronomy Department, UF | Rios, Esteban | 2020 |
| Bhattarai, Krishna | Postdoctoral Associate, Strawberry Breeding and Genetics Program, UC Davis | Deng, Zhanao | 2020 |
| Buhlman, Jamie Lee | UF Turfgrass lab manager, Kevin Kenworthy | Kenworthy, Kevin | 2020 |
| Cappai, Francesco | Molecular Research Scientist, Ohalo Genetics in California | Munoz, Patricio | 2020 |
| Chitwood-Brown, Jessica | Assistant Professor, Colorado State University, Potato Breeding and Genetics | Hutton, Sam | 2020 |
| Khan, Jahangir | Senior Scientific Officer, Wheat and Barley breeder, Pakistan Agricultural Research Council, Balochistan Agricultural Research and Development Centre (BARDC), Quetta | Babar, Ali | 2020 |
| Mendoza, Augusto | R&D, Dole, Honduras | Rios, Esteban | 2020 |
| Rogers, Katie | Community Engagement Administrator at American Society of Plant Biologists | Chaparro, José | 2020 |
| Sater, Haley | Faculty position at University of Maryland specializing in fruits and vegetables extension | Munoz, Patricio | 2020 |
| Cabezas, Diego F. | Ranch Technician, Ted Turner Enterprises, Inc., Nebraska | Munoz, Patricio | 2019 |
| Cox, Katherine D. | Seed Lab Technician at WISCONSIN CROP IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATION, Madison, Wisconsin | Kenworthy, Kevin | 2019 |
| Dareus, Rocheteau | Freelance/Consultant | Rios, Esteban | 2019 |
| Dorval, Marie | Teacher at University Quisqueya, Haiti | Meru, Geoffrey | 2019 |
| Mainviel, Riphine | Research Scientist in Legume Genetics at Feed the Future Haiti/AREA Project, University of Florida | Meru, Geoffrey | 2019 |
| Pradhan Shrestha, Sumit | Data Scientist, self-employed, Madison, Winconsin | Babar, Ali | 2019 |
| Racette, Kelly A. | Sustainability Scientist, Agriculture & Food Systems at The Nature Conservancy, Falls Church, VA | Tillman, Barry | 2019 |
| Utsav Kumar, Fnu | Assistant Basil Breeder at VDF Specialty Seeds, Thermal, California | Resende, Márcio | 2019 |
| Yu, Xinjie | PhD student at University of Saskatchewan | Deng, Zhanao | 2019 |
| Avci, Muhsin Ibrahim | Ph.D. student at Ankara University, Turkey & General Directorate of Agricultural Research and Policies, Ankara, Turkey | Babar, Ali | 2018 |
| Barbey, Chris | Bioinformatics Lead with Ball Horticultural out of Chicago, IL (formerly UF Post-doc) | Folta, Kevin | 2018 |
| Mattia, Matthew | Vice President, Agmerica, Houston, TX | Gmitter, Fred | 2018 |
| Nelson, Jonathan R. | John is a Plant Breeder with Plant Sciences, Inc. out of CA | Whitaker, Vance | 2018 |
| Paudel, Dev Raj | Postdoctoral Research Associate at the University of Florida | Altpeter, Fredy | 2018 |
| Sierra Orozco, Edgar | Ph.D. student, UF/IFAS CGREC with Sam Hutton | Hutton, Sam | 2018 |
| Wente, Rebecca | Syngenta, plant breeding support position | Hutton, Sam | 2018 |
| Xu, Jianjian | UF PhD student | Deng, Zhanao | 2018 |
| Anciro, Ashlee L. | Molecular Biology Manager and Tissue Culture Research Associate | Lee, Seonghee Lee/Whitaker, Vance | 2017 |
| Goyzueta Altamirano, Marco D. | Ph.D. Student in Agronomy, University of Florida | Tillman, Barry | 2017 |
| Hossain, Maksud M. | Research Associate, Noble Research Institute, OK, US | Babar, Ali | 2017 |
| Norden, Elliot H. | Research Associate II, Driscoll's, Dover, FL | Chaparro, Jose | 2017 |
| Phillips A., Douglas | Blueberry Extension Coordinator, University of Florida, Wimauma, FL | Munoz, Patricio | 2017 |
| Cao, Zhe | Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Saskatchewan | Deng, Zhanao/Clark, David | 2016 |
| Kilasi, Newton | Assistant Professor, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania | Rathinasabapathi, Bala | 2016 |
| Rios, Esteban F. | Assistant Professor, Agronomy, University of Florida | Munoz, Patricio/Kenworthy, Kevin | 2016 |
| Tseng, Yu-Chein | Breeder, University of Taiwan | Tillman, Barry | 2016 |
| Cellon, Catherine | Assistant Plant Breeder, Duda Farm Fresh Foods, Belle Glade, FL | Olmstead, J./Munoz, Patricio | 2015 |
| Gilbert, Jessica | Molecular Blueberry Breeder, Driscoll's, Watsonville, CA | Olmstead, J./Clark, David | 2015 |
| Mangandi Sanchez, Jozer A. | Plant Breeder, Berry Blue, Inc. Plant City, FL | Whitaker, Vance | 2015 |
| Roach, Jack | Ph.D. student, Max Planck Plant Breeding Research, Cologne, Germany | Whitaker, Vance | 2015 |
| Zhang, Jianxing | Assistant VP, Compliance Quantitative Operations Associate, Bank of America | Peter, Gary | 2015 |
| Ribeiro de Resende, Marcio F | Assistant Professor, Horticultural Sciences, University of Florida | Kirst, Matias | 2014 |
| Riveros Walker, Alejandro | Post-Doctorate Associate, University of Florida | Peter, Gary | 2014 |
| Thornton, Steven T | Maize Breeder, Corteva Agrisciences, Mississippi, USA | Tillman, Barry | 2014 |
| Yu, Yuan | Citrus Breeder, Haisheng Corporation, China | Gmitter, Fredy | 2014 |
| Chambers, Alan | Assistant Professor, Tropical Fruits Breeder, Univ. of Florida | Folta, Kevin/Whitaker, Vance | 2013 |
| Chavez Velasquez, Dario J. | Extension Specialist and peach breeder, University of Georgia, Griffin | Chaparro, Jose | 2013 |
| Kennedy, Colleen | Plant Breeder, Duda Farm Fresh Foods, CA | Whitaker, Vance | 2013 |
| Sinche Serra, Marco Vinicio | Professor, Escuela Politécnica Nacional, Quito, Ecuador | Altpeter, Fredy | 2013 |
| Carrilo-Mendonza, Omar | Strawberry Breeder, Driscoll's, Watsonville, CA | Chaparro, Jose | 2012 |
| Christensen, Christian T. | High Chill Blueberry Breeder, Driscoll's, Watsonville, CA | Kenworthy, Kevin | 2012 |
| Jung, Jehyeong | Senior Scientist, Korea Institute of Science and Technology, Korea | Altpeter, Fredy | 2012 |
| Marino, Silvia R. | Research and Development, Wonderful Citrus, Mcallen, TX | Olmstead, J. | 2012 |
| Aina, Olubunmi O | Senior Biologist, Breeding & Genetics, Corteva AgriScience, Haiwaiian Islands | Quesenberry, Ken | 2011 |
| Czarnecki, David M. II | Flower Breeder, Ernst Benary of America, Inc., CA | Deng, Zhanao | 2011 |
| Smith, Sarah M. | Squash Breeder, HM Clause, CA | Deng, Zhanao/Clark, David | 2011 |
| Taparia, Yogesh | Research Associate, Corteva Agrisciences, India | Altpeter, Fredy | 2011 |