Graduate Students

Meet our Extension Education (AEED) graduate students as well as those pursuing an MCERT/IMCP with AGST: Agricultural & Extension Education!

Graduate Students	Contact Information	Research Focus
	Jim Barey jrbarey@umd.edu	A Delaware/Maryland native; DE 4-H/FFA graduate and Eastern Shore "Agvocate." Currently the 4-H/FCS Admin Assistant for the UMD Queen Anne's County Extension Office. Hoping to utilize the information learned in the AEED degree to supplement and expand the current programming in Queen Anne's County and become a UMD Extension Agent/Educator.
	Jennifer Freebery jfreeber@umd.edu	Works as conservation planner for Maryland Department of Agriculture in Kent where she helps farmers protect soil and water quality on their land. Bachelor's in Environmental Science from Washington College Manages the environmental education, website, social media, and is the secretary of the Maryland Envirothon. Participated in LEAD Maryland Class X.
	Samaila Mamman smamman@umd.edu
	Gracie Mason gracies@umd.edu	Harford County, MD Native Bachelor’s in Animal Science (Production and Management) from Berry College (2019) Ag Worker II at the UMD Campus Farm Interested in Agroecology, Sustainable & Regenerative Agriculture, and related fields
	Meg Smolinksi msmolins@umd.edu	Using the University of Maryland Arboretum & Botanical Gardens to further research at our institution Combating post-partum depression with low-impact outdoor adult education programming
	Haylee Staruk haylee@umd.edu	Current SNAP-Ed Nutrition Educator for University of Maryland Extension. Interested in researching the influence of Farm-to-School Programming on the consumption of healthy foods at low-income elementary schools.

Meet our Landscape Architecture (LARC & LACP) students!

Please visit our Landscape Architecture Graduate Students page.

Meet our Plant Science (PLSC) graduate students!

Graduate Students	Contact Information	Research Focus
	Helen Boniface hsboni@umd.edu Tully Lab	Assessment of cover crop mixture performance across the Northeastern US to improve farmer recommendations Evaluation of the long-term impact of management factors on soil organic carbon stocks in various Mid-Atlantic cropping systems
	Stephen Boushell hsboni@umd.edu Hu Lab	Evaluation of fungicide resistance management strategies of bunch grape pathogens. Quantification of the extent to which efficacy of fungicides are compromised under varied resistance scenarios.
	Innocent Byiringiro ibyiring@umd.edu Qi Lab	Plant genome engineering Metabolic pathways engineering
	Humberto Castillo Gonzalez humb15@umd.edu Chaverri Lab	Examination of the diversity of endophytic fungi from the Rubiaceae family. Study key roles in driving plant responses against pathogens and/or for adaptation to difficult environments. Understanding the role of plants in selecting lineages of fungi using secondary metabolites, how the communities are assembled, and what interactions take place.
	Bhavit Chhabra bchhabra@umd.edu Rawat Lab	Study of the genetic resistance in bread wheat against Fusarium Head Blight.
	Joshua Clem jclem@umd.edu Qi Lab	Plant genome engineering DNA repair CRISPR/Cas systems
	Scott Cosseboom scossebo@umd.edu Hu Lab Post-Doctoral Researcher	Evaluation of management methods against bunch grape diseases. Fungicide efficacy and sensitivity testing for pathogens of bunch grapes and small fruit Observation of pathogen species distribution and frequency in bunch grape and small fruit fields of the Mid-Atlantic
	Adam Hopper ahopper@umd.edu Micallef Lab	Metabolomics of crop surfaces influence on plant-microbe associations Reduction of enteric pathogen colonization on crop surfaces using a metabolomics approach Examination of physiological and morphological traits that drive enteric pathogen attachment/colonization
	Claire Hudson clhudson@umd.edu Micallef Lab	Exploration of the role of endophytic microorganisms and plant defenses against pathogenic bacteria Influence of plant associated microbiota on plant exometabolome and the metabolome of the host Abiotic and biotic elicitation of antimicrobial secondary metabolites in leafy greens as a means to improve food safety. Abiotic elicitation and the impact on shelf life and microbiome shifts in leafy greens. Internalization of enteric pathogens on leafy greens in response to factors such as changes in environmental conditions, metabolome and microbiome.
	Anmol Kajla akajla97@umd.edu Tiwari Lab
	Diksha Klair diksha@umd.edu Micallef Lab	Investigation of the Influence of PGPR on plant metabolome under abiotic stresses. Enteric pathogen-plant interactions influencing transcriptomic and metabolomic profile of plant.
	Joseph Lagner jlagner@umd.edu Qi Lab	Application of CRISPR-based disease detection.
	Abby Lathrop-Melting abbylm@umd.edu Erwin & Micallef Lab	Utilizing episodic abiotic stress to improve nutritional quality and food safety of lettuce in controlled environment systems Understanding how changes in the lettuce metabolome impact associations with foodborne pathogens and spoilage microorganisms
	Bruce Levine levinebj@umd.edu Xiao Lab	Exploration of the function of genes in the Chestnut blight fungus (Cryphonectria parasitica) suspected of playing a role in pathogenesis. Study of highly-conserved fungal pathogenicity genes as possible targets for novel forms of disease resistance.
	Janelle Livesay jlivesay@umd.edu Rawat Lab	Evaluation of the effectiveness of the use of Ascaroside treatments as a prophylaxis against Fusarium graminearum infection in wheat.
	Aimee Malzahn amalzahn@terpmail.umd.edu Qi Lab	Utilization of CRISPR-based genome engineering in dicot plants
	Lauren Elizabeth Marshall lemarsh@umd.edu Chanse Lab
	Md Shipon Miah shipon@umd.edu Farcuh Lab	Fruit Quality, Ripening and Postharvest Physiology Fruit Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
	Jennifer Morash jmorash@g.umd.edu Lea-cox Lab	Evaluate the effects of organic soil amendments on soil chemical and physical properties as well as turfgrass establishment Measure losses of nitrogen and phosphorus via leaching from organic soil amendments as well as soil amended with such products Understand and untangle policy and stakeholder roadblocks that unnecessarily restrict the use of organic soil amendments thereby thwarting efforts to divert organic materials from landfills and incinerators
	Erin Myers emyers8@umd.edu Fiorellino	Researching how planting date and depth impact the yield of hemp varieties in Maryland to supply growers with specific recommendations.
	Boyoung Park bpark513@terpmail.umd.edu Kweon Lab	Stormwater BMPs Economic effects Housing sale prices
	Carl Paulson cpaulso1@umd.edu Tiwari Lab	Wheat genetics Wheat transformation
	Shravya Peddigari speddiga@terpmail.umd.edu	Understanding the organic and conventional management practices in athletic fields sports turf in Maryland.
	Carrie Perkins cperk@terpmail.umd.edu
	Cara Peterson cmpeters@g.umd.edu Tully Lab	Research the integrating cover crops into no-till grain production Evaluation of interseeding cover crop mixtures into double-crop soybeans as a method for increasing legume cover crop adoption in the mid-Atlantic
	Shannon Rotella srotella@umd.edu Hu Lab	Determination of the frequency of fungicide resistance in grape downy mildew. Identification and distribution of grape downy mildew cryptic species in Mid Atlantic vineyards. Understanding the effect of shoot thinning and leaf pulling practices on disease prevalence in Mid Atlantic vineyards.
	Adam Schoen awschoen@terpmail.umd.edu Tiwari Lab	Development of a pipeline for efficient gene discovery of agronomically important traits in hexaploid bread wheat using diploid wheat species as a model. Reestablishing the University of Maryland's small grain breeding program using new technologies and speed breeding techniques in order to introduce new elite cultivars to growers.
	Taylor Schulden tschulde@umd.edu Rawat/Erwin Lab	Wheat rust resistance gene cloning in the tertiary gene pool of wheat. Particularly, cloning of leaf rust and stripe rust resistance genes derived from Aegilops geniculata. Novel and efficient methodology development for Agrobacterium-mediated transformation in Echeveria spp., an ornamental succulent.
	Allison Schulenburg aschul98@umd.edu Tully Lab	Quantifying the accumulation of Na and P pools in plant biomass and drawdown in soils in order to guide best management practices and easement policies for landowners facing sea level rise and SWI.
	Bradley Simpson bsimpso2@umd.edu Sullivan Lab	Evaluation of long-term trajectories in plant composition, forest structure, and light availability following urban forest restoration practices. Further understand the ecological relationship between birds and invasive plant species and the resulting impacts on urban forests.
	Nate Spicer nspicer@umd.edu Tully Lab	Evaluating the impacts of sea level rise on carbon and nitrogen cycling in agricultural fields and forests on the Eastern Shore.
	Simon Sretenovic simonsre@terpmail.umd.edu Qi Lab	Developing and improving genome editing systems in plants.
	Yvette Tamukong tyb@terpmail.umd.edu Culver Lab	Identification of active plum pox virus (PPV) variants during leaf and bud development of plum trees (Prunus domestica L.). Investigating the role of roots and buds in the seasonal maintenance of PPV variants. Examining host gene alterations in roots and buds and the impact on PPV maintenance during dormancy.
	Sydney Wallace swallac1@umd.edu Rawat Lab
	Louis Thorne lthorne@umd.edu Fiorellino Lab	Phytoremediation in soils with high phosphorus
	Yuwei Xiao ywxiao93@terpmail.umd.edu Liu Lab	Fruit development through two different plant systems: wild strawberry (Fragaria vesca) and Arabidopsis thaliana.
	Inderjit Yadav isyadav@g.umd.edu Tiwari Lab

Meet our MEES graduate students!

MARINE ESTUARINE ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES

"Marine Estuarine Environmental Sciences (MEES) is an inter-institutional graduate program of the University System of Maryland whose mission is to educate students to become the scientific leaders and problem-solvers of the future. Using an interdisciplinary approach, we train students to engage in scientific discovery, integration, and application to generate new knowledge and to solve environmental problems.

The MEES Program is an inter-institutional, statewide graduate program within the University System of Maryland (USM). The program is composed of faculty from several of the USM's degree-granting universities and research institutions as well as experts from government, non-government agencies and other non-academic units." - MEES Graduate Program

Graduate Student	Contact Information	Research Focus
	Kaitlyn Wagner Neel Lab	Conservation of genetic diversity Role of phenotypic plasticity in the distribution of Vallisneria americana along salinity gradients Selection of seed stock for restoration of V. americana

Meet our MOCB graduate students!

MOLECULAR AND CELLULAR BIOLOGY

"The MOCB concentration area offers highly mentored graduate training with faculty interested in a broad spectrum of research focused on understanding the molecular nature of biology. Our faculty members have expertise in state-of-the-art technologies, have national and international reputations, and publish in high impact journals. MOCB-CA students receive a Core Curriculum that emphasizes knowledge in the areas of molecular genetics, nucleic acid biochemistry, cell biology, and structural biology. In addition, a number of interdisciplinary research clusters are available focusing on host-pathogen interactions, plant systems, developmental biology, virology, genomics, biophysics, and more. The overall goal of the MOCB-CA is to provide our students with rigorous and comprehensive research training that will lead to a successful career in the biosciences." - Biological Sciences Graduate Program

Graduate Students	Contact Information	Research Focus
	Qiong Zhang Xiao Lab

Graduate Students