2025 Symposium Organizing Committee Members

Mason Marshall

Ph.D., Horticultural Sciences

masonmarshall@tamu.edu

Mason Marshall is a Ph.D. student in the Horticultural Sciences Department under the direction of Dr. Michael A. Arnold. He has a M.S. and B.S. from Texas A&M University. His research focuses on the diversity and overwintering habits of Ratibida columnifera (Nutt.) Wooten & Standl., a native wildflower found throughout the United States. Due to the extreme phenotypic variation expressed in this species, the potential for a breeding program is great. A goal of this project is to produce new R. columnifera cultivars that are suitable for growth in the south-central United States.

Pradip Sapkota

Ph.D., Plant Breeding

prdp@tamu.edu

Pradip Sapkota is a Ph.D. student in the sorghum breeding lab under the supervision of Dr. William Rooney. Pradip is originally from Nepal, where he completed a B.S. in Agriculture at Tribhuvan University. He has an M.S. in Plant and Soil science from Texas Tech University. His current research focuses on strengthening predictive breeding strategies for developing grain sorghum hybrids. He is interested in data-driven modeling for large scale multi-environment breeding trials.

Ao Jiao

Ph.D., Horticultural Sciences

aj2014@tamu.edu

Ao Jiao is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Horticultural Sciences. She is a member of the Texas A&M Texas A&M Potato Breeding Program under supervision of Dr. Isabel Vales. She completed a M.S. in Plant Sciences from Wageningen University & Research and a B.S. in Horticulture from Texas A&M University. Her research aims to better understand the genetic, transcriptomic and biochemical regulation of potato tuber dormancy. The knowledge gained from the research will aid in breeding efforts and help improve agricultural practices to allow for better control of tuber dormancy and sprouting.

Navdeep Kaur

Ph.D., Horticultural Sciences

navdeep@tamu.edu

Navdeep Kaur is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Horticultural Sciences. She is a member of the Rose Breeding and Genetics group under the direction of Dr. Oscar Riera-Lizarazu. She completed a B.Tech in Biotechnology from Punjab Agricultural University in Punjab, India and a M.S. in Plant and Environmental Sciences from New Mexico State University. Currently, her research focuses on characterizing the black spot isolates present in the rose fields in Texas and investigating the specific genotype-isolate interactions in roses. Another project focuses on the differential splicing analysis for flower transition trait in roses.

Edgar Correa

Ph.D., Plant Breeding

edgar.correa@tamu.edu

Edgar Correa is a Ph.D. Plant Breeding student in the Soil and Crop Science Department at Texas A&M University. He is a member of the sorghum breeding and genetics program under the supervision of Dr. William Rooney. Previously, he obtained a M.S. in Horticultural Sciences from Texas A&M University and a B.S. in Crop and Soil Environmental Sciences from Virginia Tech. Currently, his research is assessing environmental effects of sorghum grain composition traits from a hybrid population developed between four major sorghum breeding programs. Also, he is determining the application of genomic prediction on forage sorghum, which includes silage, forage and biomass sorghum.

Dipak Khanal

Ph.D., Plant Breeding

khanald2114@tamu.edu

Dipak Khanal is a Ph.D. Plant Breeding student in the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences at Texas A&M University under supervision of Dr. Endang Septiningsih. He has completed a M.S. in Agricultural Regulation from University of Arkansas at Pine Buff. His current research project is on the molecular genetics of rice plants to improve their resiliency towards abiotic stresses. Particularly, I am working with rice plants in integration with genome editing to develop cold-stress and submergence-stress resilient rice crop cultivars.

Merve Saglam

Ph.D., Plant Breeding

mervesaglam@tamu.edu

Merve Saglam is a Ph.D. Plant Breeding student in the Department of Soil and Crop Science at Texas A&M University. She is a member of the Rice Genetics & Genomics lab under supervision of Dr. Endang Septiningsih. She completed a M.S. in Biotechnology from Eskisehir Technical University, Turkey and a B.S. in Molecular Biology and Genetics from Bilecik Seyh Edebali University, Turkey. Her current research focuses on optimizing and investigating the interactions of carbon nanotubes, an alternative DNA delivery method in cowpeas. Another project focuses on the molecular genetics of cowpea plants to improve abiotic stresses. Particularly, I am working with cowpea plants in integration with genome editing to identify the genetic determinant underlying a QTL and explore its mechanisms in enhancing heat tolerance in cowpeas.

Isaac Juarez

Ph.D., Toxicology

isaac.juarez@tamu.edu

Isaac Juarez is a Ph.D. Toxicology student in the Department of Biochemistry & Biophysics under the direction of Dr. Kurouski. He completed a B.S. from Texas A&M University. His research uses Raman spectroscopy to detect heavy metal uptake, especially arsenic, in rice crops. The goal is to identify fields with elevated heavy metal levels, enabling remediation efforts and preventing the consumption of contaminated rice.

Abdul Wahid

Ph.D., Plant Breeding

abdul@tamu.edu

Abdul Wahid is pursuing a Ph.D. in Plant Breeding in the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences at Texas A&M University, under the supervision of Dr. Hongbin, focusing on Corn Breeding. He comes from Pakistan. His research area primarily focuses on the development of AI-powered Gene-Based Breeding (AI-GBB) in maize, with a focus on dissecting the species-wide genetic and molecular mechanisms underlying grain component traits and their heterosis.