People
Principle Investigators

- David Bertioli, Principal Investigator (Department of Crops and Soil Sciences)
- Georgia Research Alliance
- Distinguished Investigator and Professor
- Ph.D. Virology, University of Oxford, UK
- B.Sc. Botany, University of Duhram, UK
- 706-296-4832
- bertioli@uga.edu

- Soraya Leal-Bertioli, Principal Investigator (Department of Plant Pathology)
- Senior Research Scientist
- Ph.D. Plant Sciences, Nottingham University, UK
- B.Sc. Biological Sciences, University of Brasilia, Brazil.
- 706-296-4863
- sorayab@uga.edu
Research Staff

- Brian Abernathy, Scientific Computing Professional
- Bioinformatics, system administration, UAS imaging and sensing
- B.Sc. in Telecommunications and Networking Technology, Purdue University
- bla@uga.edu

- Jenny Leverett, Laboratory Supervisor II
- B.S.Ed. in Health and Physical Education, University of Georgia
- 706-255-6931
- jkrogers@uga.edu

- Mark Hopkins, Center for Applied Genetic Technologies Laboratory Parapro/Pro
- B.Sc. Plant Pathology, B.Sc. Microbiology (1985) University of Georgia
- M.Sc. Plant Pathology (1988) University of Georgia
- mark.hopkins@uga.edu

- Tyler Huckabee, Laboratory Technician
- Lab Parapro at Complex Carbohydrate Research Center UGA (2020-2021)
- Tyler.Huckabee@uga.edu

- Francisco de Blas, Post-Doctoral Associate (Institute of Plant Breeding, Genetics and Genomics)
- Ph.D. Agr. Sciences, National University of Córdoba, Argentina
- B.Sc. Agronomist, National University of Córdoba, Argentina
- francisco.deblas@uga.edu
Graduate Students

- Maricel Gonzales, Ph.D. Student (Department of Plant Pathology)
- M.Sc. Plant Pathology (2011), University of the Philippines Los Banos
- B.Sc. Agriculture major in Plant Pathology (2006), University of the Philippines Los Banos
- mcg48339@uga.edu

- Yun-Ching Tsai, Ph.D. Student (Department of Plant Pathology)
- M.Sc. Plant Pathology (2014), University of Georgia
- B.Sc. Plant Pathology (2010), National Chung Hsing University, Taiwan
- yct@uga.edu

- Samuele Lamon, Ph.D. Student (Institute of Plant Breeding, Genetics and Genomics)
- M.Sc. Crop and Soil Sciences (2019), University of Georgia.
- M.Sc. Sustainable Agriculture (2019), University of Padua, Italy.
- B.Sc. Agricultural Science and Technology (2016), University of Padua Italy.
- Samuele.Lamon@uga.edu

- Emile Cora Barnes, Ph.D. Student (Institute of Plant Breeding, Genetics and Genomics)
- M.Sc. Biotechnology (2019), University of South Florida
- B.A. Cell and Molecular Biology (2019), New College of Florida
- Emile.Barnes@uga.edu

- Namrata Maharjan, Ph.D. Student (Institute of Plant Breeding, Genetics and Genomics)
- M.Sc. in Biological Sciences (2021), South Dakota State University, U.S.A.
- B.Sc. in Agriculture (2017), Institute of Agriculture and Animal Sciences, Tribhuvan University, Nepal
- B.Sc. in Environmental Science (2015), Tribhuvan University, Nepal
- Namrata.Maharjan@uga.edu

- Brandon Tonnis, Ph.D. Student (Institute of Plant Breeding, Genetics and Genomics)
- M.Sc. in Biological Sciences (2002), University of Cincinnati, U.S.A.
- B.Sc. in Biology (1999), Xavier University, U.S.A.
- Brandon.Tonnis@uga.edu

- Daniel Matusinec (Dan), Ph.D. Student (Institute of Plant Breeding, Genetics and Genomics)
- M.Sc. in Plant Breeding and Plant Genetics (2021), University of Wisconsin
- B.Sc. in Environmental Sciences and Political Science (2019), University of Wisconsin
- Daniel.Matusinec@uga.edu

- Alexi Dong, M.S. Student (Department of Plant Pathology)
- B.Sc. in Plant Science (2021), University of Florida
- Alexi.Dong@uga.edu

- Danielle Ama Essandoh, Ph.D. Student (Institute of Plant Breeding, Genetics and Genomics)
- M.Sc. Plant Breeding and Seed Systems (2021), Makerere University, Uganda
- B.Sc. Crop Science (Plant pathology, 2017), University of Ghana, Ghana