David Perla is a graduate student in the Department of Plant Soil and Microbial Sciences at Michigan State University and is working on a PhD under the guidance of his major professor, Dr. Mary Hausbeck. David is investigating strategies to manage Phytophthora spp. on vegetables in Michigan.
CucCAP scientists
The CucCAP team includes a diverse group of scientists including plant breeders, plant genomics specialists, plant pathologists, crop production specialists, and agricultural economics specialists. Early career scientists on the CucCAP team include both MS and PhD graduate students, Post doctoral researchers, research technicians, and other technical staff assisting the CucCAP project’s principal investigators.
Early Career Scientist Spotlight | Mariana Prieto Torres
Mariana Prieto Torres is a graduate student in the Vegetable Pathology Lab at NC State University and is working on a PhD under the guidance of her major professor, Dr. Lina Quesada
Early Career Scientist Spotlight | Jingyin Yu
Jingyin Yu is a post doc in Zhangjun Fei’s lab in the Boyce Thompson Institute at Cornell University in Ithica, N.Y. His research focuses on the development of the cucurbit genomics database and cucumber pangenome analysis.
Early Career Scientist Spotlight | Honghe Sun
Honghe Sun is a graduate student working on a PhD in Dr. Zhangjun Fei’s Lab at Boyce Thompson Institute. The focus of his work is genomics.
Early Career Scientist Spotlight | Libby Indermaur
Libby is identifying which of Michael Mazourek’s Cucurbita moschata and C. maxima breeding lines are: 1) resistant to powdery mildew and 2) candidate replacements for the susceptible cultivars used in the processing industry.
Early Career Scientist Spotlight | Bidisha Chanda
Before her current position as a Genetic Purity Lab Manager in the Quality Assurance Department at Sakata Seed America, Inc., in Salinas California, Bidisha Chanda worked for the USDA and conducted research for the CucCAP watermelon team at the US Vegetable Laboratory in Charleston, South Carolina.
Early Career Scientist Spotlight | Kim Heagy
Kim Heagy is a graduate student working on a Masters degree in the Department of Horticultural Science at NC State University. Kim is a member of the Schultheis Vegetable Production lab which is part of the CucCAP Integrated Disease Management Team.
Early Career Scientist Spotlight | Stuart Michel
Stuart Michel is a research technician in Dr. Schultheis’ program at NC State University and he is pursuing a masters degree in Horticultural Science. Stuart’s research will focus on Fusarium wilt of watermelon.
