Event Speakers XXVI International Symposium in Genetics and Plant Breeding
Jason Rauscher
Bachelor in Biology at Carleton College (1992), Ph.D. in Evolutionary and Population Biology at Washington University in Saint Louis (2000). Has more than 20 years of experience in academia, research, secondary education, and industry to foster mutually beneficial interactions between academia and the private sector in the agricultural and biological sciences. Currently responsible for managing the Corteva Symposia Series, which supports a network of graduate student organized symposia at over 30 universities and research centers around the world each year.
Magno Antonio Patto Ramalho
He holds a degree in Agronomy from the Universidade Federal de Lavras (1970), a master’s degree in Agronomy (Genetics and Plant Breeding) from the Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture (1973), and a doctorate in Agronomy (Genetics and Plant Breeding) from the Universidade de São Paulo (1978). He has experience in Genetics, with emphasis on Quantitative Genetics, working mainly on the following topics: beans, corn, quantitative genetics and plant breeding.
Rex Bernardo
Ph.D. Rex Bernardo is Professor and Endowed Chair in Corn Breeding and Genetics. He obtained his undergraduate degree in the Philippines in 1984 and his Ph.D. degree in plant breeding from the University of Illinois in the USA in 1988. Ph.D. Bernardo developed the widely used GBLUP procedure in 1994, and most of his work has focused on marker-assisted breeding. He is Director of the Plant Breeding Center at Minnesota, has written two textbooks, and teaches graduate courses in plant breeding and in professional skills for scientists. He discovered new ways of breeding corn by harnessing new technologies and exploiting different types of data routinely generated in a breeding program. Current work includes genome wide prediction, targeted recombination for quantitative traits, and refined breeding schemes (plus a side project on sweet corn breeding).
Antonio Chalfun Junior
Graduated in Agronomy from the Universidade Federal de Lavras (1996), Master in Agronomy (Plant Science) from the Universidade Federal de Lavras (1999) and PhD in Plant Science – Plant Molecular Physiology, from Wageningen University And Research Centre (2004), Wageningen, Netherlands. He is currently an associate professor at the Department of Biology, Universidade Federal de Lavras, in the area of Plant Physiology. Current member of the Collegiate of Graduate Programs in Agronomy / Plant Physiology (former coordinator), and former member of the Collegiate of Plant Biotechnology and Collegiate of Agrochemistry at UFLA. He also holds the position of Director of the Directorate of International Relations (DRI) at UFLA and Assistant Dean of Graduate Studies. Member of the managing committee of the PrINT program – UFLA. Has experience in Plant Biology, with emphasis on Molecular Biology, working mainly on the following topics: developmental biology, flowering, biotechnology and molecular physiology of development, and is coordinator of the CNPq Molecular Physiology of Development research group.
Seth Murray
Ph.D. Murray received his PhD from Cornell University and a BS from Michigan State University. His research program focuses on new approaches in high throughput field phenotyping (including unmanned aerial vehicles, i.e. drones), quantitative genetic discovery, gene to phene data analytics and applied maize (corn) breeding in Texas, as well as perenniality in maize and sorghum. He has released 9 maize lines, some having been licensed and being grown by Texas farmers, including proprietary hybrids for whiskey. A major focus and success of his program is graduate student training, chairing 33 committees and serving on another 37 committees. He has co-authored 89 peer reviewed articles, served in leadership roles for the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA), the Crop Science Society of America (CSSA), the National Association of Plant Breeders (NAPB) and the North American Plant Phenotyping Network (NAPPN). Including currently serving as the President Elect of CSSA. He is a recipient of both CSSA and NAPB early career research awards, a fellow of CSSA and was twice named a Blavatnik Young Life Sciences finalist. In 2016-2017 he served as the Senior Advisor of Agricultural Systems in the Office of the Chief Scientist at USDA. He founded and served as Editor of The Plant Phenome Journal, an ASA and CSSA publication.
Aluizio Borem de Oliveira
Graduated in Agronomy (1981), Master’s degree in Genetics and Breeding (1985) from the Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Ph.D. in Genetics and Breeding (1993) and post-doctorate in Molecular Genetics from the University of Minnesota System (U.S.). He has experience in bean and soybean breeding, genetic resources and biotechnology. Is leader of several research activities with national and international recognition and published more than 130 books in Portuguese, English, Spanish, Korean and Mandarin and several other technical, newspaper articles and awareness materials. As a senior plant breeder with strong leadership, networking, communication, management and outstanding organizational skills, in addition ability to work effectively under pressure in multidisciplinary teams, he has performed assignments for UN bodies (UNIDO and FAO), for CIAT, and several other international organizations. Currently, he works as a professor and plant breeder at the Universidade Federal de Viçosa.
Alexandre Pio Viana
Agronomist, Master in Plant Production and completed his doctorate degree in Plant Production at the Universidade Estadual do Norte Fluminense Darcy Ribeiro in 2001. He is currently an Associate Professor I at the Universidade Estadual do Norte Fluminense Darcy Ribeiro, in the Laboratory of Plant Genetic Improvement. He works in the area of Agronomy, with emphasis on Genetic Improvement of Perennial Plants, Quantitative Genetics, Experimental Statistics, DNA Markers. He works in graduate courses focusing on experimental techniques, mixed modeling, mapping of QTls and broad genomic selection. He coordinates research projects in the areas of intrapopulation improvement of yellow passion fruit via recurrent selection. He did postdoctoral research at the University of California, Davis (USA), in the Department of Viticulture and Enology, with Prof. Andrew Walker’s team, with emphasis on mapping QTL’s and selection assisted by DNA markers. He is one of the creators and founders of the Functional Plant Breeding Journal, being its current executive editor. He is founder and General Director of Spin-off Rio Norte Sementes Ltda. Current Coordinator of the Graduate Program in Genetics and Plant Breeding at UENF
Lázaro José Chaves
Degree in Agronomy from the Universidade Federal do Goiás (1976), a master’s degree in Genetics and Plant Breeding from the Universidade de São Paulo (1982), a doctorate in Agronomy (Genetics and Plant Breeding) from the Universidade de São Paulo(1985) and post-doctorate from the Universidade de São Paulo (2010). He is currently a full professor at the Agronomy School of the Universidade Federal do Goiás. He has experience in Plant Breeding, Quantitative Genetics and Population Genetics, working mainly on the following topics: improvement and conservation of native species of the Cerrado, genetic resources. He works at the graduate program in Genetics and Plant Breeding at the Federal Universidade Federal do Goiás.
Felipe Lopes da Silva
He has a degree in Agronomy from the Universidade Federal de Viçosa (2004), master’s degree in Genetics and Plant Breeding from the Universidade Federal de Lavras (2006) and doctorate in Genetics and Plant Breeding from the Federal Universidade Federal de Viçosa (2009). He worked as a scientific researcher at the Empresa de Pesquisa Agropecuária de Minas Gerais (EPAMIG). He is currently an adjunct professor at the Federal Universidade Federal de Viçosa in the area of soybean genetic improvement. He was President of the Minas Gerais Regional of the Brazilian Plant Breeding Society biennium 2015-2017. In 2019 he conducted postdoctoral training in the area of genetic improvement for resistance to soybean cyst nematode at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He has experience in Genetics with emphasis on Quantitative Genetics.
Roberto Fritsche-Neto
Graduated in Agronomy from the Universidade Federal de Pelotas Master’s in Genetics and Plant Breeding from the Universidade de São Paulo (USP) and a Ph.D. in Genetics and Breeding from the Universidade Federal de Viçosa (UFV). Also, He was a visiting scientist at the University of Minnesota, Cornell University, and Queensland University. For nine years, He has been an Assistant Professor of Plant Breeding at UFV and USP/ESALQ. From January 2021 to July 2022, worked as a Senior Scientist Quantitative Genetics and Biometrics at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), Philippines. Currently, is Assistant Professor of Quantitative Genetics/ Prediction-based breeding at LSU AgCenter. His work strives i) to make the current generation of breeders able to implement key tools (such as molecular markers, omics, imagery, and weather data) and modern statistical genetic approaches in the development of new products, ii) to develop new breeding schemes and statistical genetic models via stochastic simulations and empirical data, iii) understand the genetics and develop crop germplasm with higher resilience.
Breno Rezende
Graduated in Agronomy from the Federal University of Lavras (2009), master and Ph.D. in Genetics and Plant Breeding from the same institution (2013). He has international experience in the same area at the University of Minnesota. He has experience in planning and managing trials in southern Brazil: people management; setting up experiments; management of planting, data collection and harvesting; verification of genetic purity and experimental quality; statistical analysis of data at DuPont Pioneer. Currently he leads soybean breeding trials for the state of Mato Grosso at Corteva Agriscience.