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

Gonzalo Casorzo

Gonzalo Casorzo Prieto

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

Raveendra Chandavarapu

Focus Area: Turfgrass
Advisors: Dr. Fredy Altpeter
Email: rchandavarapu@ufl.edu

Sisi Chen

Sisi Chen

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

Dylan Clark

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

Hung-Yu Dai

Focus Area: Peanut
Advisors: Dr. Jianping Wang
Email: hungyudai@ufl.edu

Rakshya Dhakal

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

Will Lee Dobson

Focus Area: Blueberry
Advisors: Dr. Patricio Munoz
Email: dobsonw@ufl.edu

Rafaela Graciano

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

Hani Wael Hassan

Focus Area: Citrus
Advisors: Dr. Zhanao Deng
Email: hani.hassan@ufl.edu

Abdullah Jamil

Focus Area: Tomatoes
Advisors: Dr. Anuj Sharma
Email: abdullah.jamil@ufl.edu

Sri Madhulika Jetti

Focus Area: Broccoli
Advisors: Dr. Charlie Messina
Email: s.jetti@ufl.edu

Anisa Khalid

Anisa Khalid

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

Darlon Vasquez Lantican

Focus Area: Sweet Corn
Advisors: Dr. Marcio Resende
Email: dv.lantican@ufl.edu

Jaejoon Lee

Focus Area: Strawberries
Advisors: Dr. Seonghee Lee
Email: leejaejoon@ufl.edu

Jesse Murray 200px

Jesse Murray

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

Queen Offornedo

Focus Area: Vanilla
Advisors: Dr. Xingbo Wu
Email: q.offornedo@ufl.edu

Ankit Pokhrel

Focus Area: Blackberry
Advisors: Dr. Zhanao Deng
Email: pokhrel.an@ufl.edu

Makayla B. Rutski

Makayla B. Rutski

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

Taylor Sawyer

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

Sophie Schmidt

Focus Area: Strawberries
Advisors: Dr. Vance Whitaker
Email: s.schmidt1@ufl.edu

Nabeel Shaheen

Focus Area: Ornamentals
Advisors: Dr. Alfred Huo
Email: nabeelshaheen@ufl.edu

Shubham Shubham

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

Sudeep Subedi

Focus Area: Tomatoes
Advisors: Dr. Jessica Chitwood-Brown
Email: subedisudeep@ufl.edu

Xavier V. Tacker

Focus Area: Strawberry
Advisors: Dr. Vance Whitaker
Email: tackerxavier@ufl.edu

Bihani Thapa

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

Trishna Tiwari

Focus Area: Citrus
Advisors: Dr. Charlie Messina
Email: tiwaritrishna@ufl.edu

Kaitlyn Vondracek

Kaitlyn Vondracek

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

RECENT GRADUATES

Samuel Adewale - Picture

Samuel A. Adewale

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

Juan Jimenez

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

Samuel Ipinyomi - Picture

Samuel O. Ipinyomi

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

Anandi Karn

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

Sudip Kunwar 200px

Sudip Kunwar

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

Mark Porter

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

Pablo Sipowicz 200px

Pablo Sipowicz

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

Estefania Tavares F.

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

Elissar Alam

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

Manuel Gastelbondo

Graduated: 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