About me

I am a postdoctoral associate at Cornell University in the Institute of Biotechnology’s Bioinformatics Facility. I currently work on the VitisxMuscadinia grape hybrid breeding project genetics team with Dr. Qi Sun. I received my PhD in Plant Breeding & Genetics from Cornell in 2025, advised by Dr. Jean-Luc Jannink.

Research interests

Quantitative genetics and genomics | Nutritional quality | Plant breeding | Wild relatives | Bioinformatics

My current research with the VxM project involves:

• Inferring Vitis ancestry in interspecific hybrid genomes using a Hidden Markov Model
• Using amplicon-based microhaplotype marker panels
• Assembling new Muscadinia rotundifolia genomes

My PhD research explored trait trade-offs in cassava (Manihot esculenta) breeding, using both quantitative and molecular genetics methods to understand:

• The biological basis of the relationship between carotenoid content and dry matter content in provitamin A biofortified yellow cassava
• The effects of an introgression from the wild relative Manihot glaziovii on yield and fitness, in collaboration with the cassava breeding team at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Ibadan, Nigeria

Seminar recordings

• Investigating the genetic basis of trade-offs in cassava breeding for improved provitamin A content and dry yield
• Understanding new plant varieties with Cornell Cooperative Extension Master Gardeners program