Students - Plant Breeding Program - University of Florida - Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences - University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences - UF/IFAS

Raveendra Chandavarapu

Focus Area: Turfgrass
Advisors: Drs. F. Altpeter/K. Kenworthy
Email: rchandavarapu@ufl.edu
Cohort: 2024

Dylan Clark

Focus Area: Blueberry
Advisor: Dr. Patricio Munoz
Email: dylanclark@ufl.edu
Cohort: 2023

Hung-Yu Dai

Focus Area: Peanut
Advisor: Dr. Jianping Wang
Email: hungyudai@ufl.edu
Cohort: 2024

Rakshya Dhakal

Focus Area: Potatoes
Advisor: Dr. Marcio Resende
Email: rakshya.dhakal@ufl.edu
Cohort: 2022

Will Lee Dobson

Focus Area: Blueberry
Advisor: Dr. Patricio Munoz
Email: dobsonw@ufl.edu
Cohort: 2024

Rafaela Graciano

Focus Area: Sweet Corn
Advisor: Dr. Marcio Resende
Email: rafaela.graciano@ufl.edu
Cohort: 2023

Hani Wael Hassan

Focus Area: Citrus
Advisor: Dr. Zhanao Deng
Email: hani.hassan@ufl.edu
Cohort: 2024

Abdullah Jamil

Focus Area: Tomatoes
Advisor: Dr. Anuj Sharma
Email: abdullah.jamil@ufl.edu
Cohort: 2025

Sri Madhulika Jetti

Focus Area: Broccoli
Advisor: Dr. Charlie Messina
Email: s.jetti@ufl.edu
Cohort: 2024

Anisa Khalid

Anisa Khalid

Focus Area: Blueberry
Advisor: Dr. Patricio Munoz
Email: anisakhalid@ufl.edu
Cohort: 2023

Darlon Vasquez Lantican

Focus Area: Sweet Corn
Advisor: Dr. Marcio Resende
Email: dv.lantican@ufl.edu
Cohort: 2024

Jaejoon Lee

Focus Area: Strawberries
Advisor: Dr. Seonghee Lee
Email: leejaejoon@ufl.edu
Cohort: 2025

Jesse Murray 200px

Jesse Murray

Focus Area: Lettuce
Advisor: Dr. German Sandoya
Email: jesse.murray@ufl.edu
Cohort: 2021

Queen Offornedo

Focus Area: Vanilla
Advisor: Dr. Xingbo Wu
Email: q.offornedo@ufl.edu
Cohort: 2025

Ankit Pokhrel

Focus Area: Blackberry
Advisor: Dr. Zhanao Deng
Email: pokhrel.an@ufl.edu
Cohort: 2024

Makayla B. Rutski

Makayla B. Rutski

Focus Area: SE Pines
Advisor: Dr. Gary Peter
Email: makaylarutski@ufl.edu
Cohort: 2022

Taylor Sawyer

Focus Area: Strawberry
Advisors: Drs. C. Messina/V. Whitaker
Email: taylorsawyer@ufl.edu
Cohort: 2023

Sophie Schmidt

Focus Area: Strawberries
Advisor: Dr. Vance Whitaker
Email: s.schmidt1@ufl.edu
Cohort: 2025

Nabeel Shaheen

Focus Area: Ornamentals
Advisor: Dr. Alfred Huo
Email: nabeelshaheen@ufl.edu
Cohort: 2023

Shubham Shubham

Location: Gulf Coast REC
Advisor: Jessica Chitwood-Brown
Email: shubhamshubham@ufl.edu
Cohort: 2025

Sudeep Subedi

Focus Area: Tomatoes
Advisor: Dr. Jessica Chitwood-Brown
Email: subedisudeep@ufl.edu
Cohort: 2025

Xavier V. Tacker

Focus Area: Strawberry
Advisor: Dr. Vance Whitaker
Email: tackerxavier@ufl.edu
Cohort: 2024

Bihani Thapa

Focus Area: Tomato
Advisor: Dr. Jessica Chitwood-Brown
Email: bihani.thapa@ufl.edu
Cohort: 2023

Trishna Tiwari

Focus Area: Citrus
Advisor: Dr. Charlie Messina
Email: tiwaritrishna@ufl.edu
Cohort: 2024

Kaitlyn Vondracek

Kaitlyn Vondracek

Focus Area: Strawberry
Advisors: Drs. Seonghee Lee and Tie Liu
Email: kvondracek@ufl.edu
Cohort: 2022

RECENT GRADUATES

Samuel Adewale - Picture

Samuel A. Adewale

Graduated: Summer 2026
Current Position: Postdoc, UF World Food Crops Breeding and Genetics Lab

Sisi Chen

Sisi Chen

Graduated: Summer 2026
Focus Area: Ornamentals
Advisor: Dr. Xingbo Wu
Email: sisi.chen@ufl.edu

Samuel Ipinyomi - Picture

Samuel O. Ipinyomi

Graduated: Fall 2025
Current Position: Postdoc, UF Crop Transformation Center

Juan Jimenez

Graduated: Spring 2026
Current Position: Varietal Development Manager, Planasa, FL

Anandi Karn

Graduated: Fall 2025
Current Position: Postdoc, UF Crop Transformation Center

Sudip Kunwar 200px

Sudip Kunwar

Graduated: Spring 2025
Current Position: Assistant Professor of Biosystems & Precision Ag, Langston University, OK

Mark Porter

Graduated: Fall 2025
Current Position: Postdoc, UF Strawberry Breeding Genomics

Gonzalo Casorzo

Gonzalo Casorzo Prieto

Graduated: Summer 2026
Focus Area: Blueberry
Advisor: Dr. Patricio Munoz
Email: gcasorzoprieto@ufl.edu

Pablo Sipowicz 200px

Pablo Sipowicz

Graduated: Fall 2025
Current Position: Postdoc, UF Forage Breeding and Genetics Lab

Estefania Tavares F.

Graduated: Spring 2025
Current Position: Postdoc, UF Blueberry Breeding and Genomics Lab

Elissar Alam

Graduated: Summer 2024
Current Position: Postdoc, University of Leuven (UK Leuven), Belgium

Manuel Gastelbondo

Graduated: Fall 2024
Current Position: Postdoc, UF Blueberry Breeding and Genomics Lab

Useful Links

UF/IFAS College of Agricultural & Life Sciences
UF/IFAS Research
UF/IFAS Research and Education Centers
Job Opportunities
Plant Science Council
Florida Foundation Seed Producers