Tag: Ph.D.

Display of buttons that depict the ghost orchid with "Orchid Conservation Chelusea Show" is shown on the outside of the pin's design.

From Florida’s Wetlands to the Chelsea Flower Show: Behind UF/IFAS Ghost Orchid Conservation

by Eva Sailly
February 10, 2026

Leafless and ephemeral, the ghost orchid seems to float in the shadows of South Florida’s wetlands. They’re a mystery that has fueled books, films, and decades of fascination. But behind the mystique is a far more complicated reality. ... READ MORE

Category: Conservation, Forests, Horticulture, UF/IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS Research, Water
Tags: Carrie Reinhardt Adams, Chelsea Flower Show, Conservation, Environmental Horticulture, Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge, Germinate, Ghost Orchid, Horticultural Sciences Department, Michael Kane, Ph.D., Plant Breeding, Restoration And Plant Ecology
Sorghum Field

How AI Is Changing Plant Breeding: Redefining the Limits of Sorghum

by Eva Sailly
February 6, 2026

For decades, sorghum has quietly disappeared from US fields. Once grown across much of the country, the drought-tolerant grain is now concentrated primarily in the southern Great Plains, especially Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. Since the ... READ MORE

Category: Agribusiness, Agriculture, Crops, Farm Management, Horticulture
Tags: #aiatuf, AI, AI In Agriculture, Alumni, Artificial Intelligence, Dr. Charlie Messina, Dr. Jasdeep Singh, Horticultural Sciences Department, New Publication, Ph.D., Plant Breeding, The Crop Transformation Center

First graduates of UF’s plant-breeding Ph.D. use genetics to help growers boost yields, improve shelf life, more

by Brad Buck
January 21, 2026

About four years ago, a small cohort of ambitious young scientists stepped into uncharted territory as the first students in the University of Florida’s new plant breeding Ph.D. program in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, part ... READ MORE

Category: UF/IFAS
Tags: Agronomy, Ali Babar, Anandi Karn, Blueberries, College Of Agricultural And Life Science, Elissar Alam, Estafania Flores, Esteban Rios, Forage, Fusarium Wilt, Graduates, Gulf Coast Research And Education Center, Horticultural Sciences, Jessica Chitwood-Brown, Manuel Gastelbondo, Pablo Sipowicz, Patricio Munoz, Ph.D., Plant Breeding Ph.D. Program, Samuel Ipinyomi, Strawberries, Sudip Kunwar, Tomatoes, Tropical Research And Education Center, UF/IFAS Plant Breeding, Vance Whitaker, Vanilla, Wheat, Xingbo Wu

From 5,000 strawberries to DNA breakthrough: Doctoral grad sweetens the future of fruit

by Brad Buck
December 18, 2025

As we enter the height of Florida’s strawberry production season, many consumers crave the taste and aroma of the fruit. That’s part of what compels Mark Porter to try to enhance those qualities.For his doctoral dissertation, Porter led ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Horticulture
Tags: Aroma, Consumers, DNA, DNA Test, Doctoral Dissertation, Flavor, Genome, Growers, Gulf Coast Research And Education Center, Mark Porter, Ph.D., Plant Breeding, Plant Breeding Ph.D. Program, Seonghee Lee, Sour, Strawberries, Strawberry Breeding, Sweet, Taste
A eppendorf multi pipet tool. Laboratory equipment, science and research.

Graduate Student Spotlight with Gabriella Dickinson: Exploring Plant Metabolism through Biochemistry

by Eva Sailly
August 5, 2025

Gabriella Dickinson, our student spotlight, is a fourth-year Ph.D. student in the Plant Molecular and Cellular Biology (PMCB) program at the University of Florida. Working in Dr. Gilles Basset’s lab, she studies the biosynthesis of prenylated ... READ MORE

Category: Curriculum, Horticulture, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Research, UF/IFAS Teaching
Tags: Basset Lab, Graduate Student, Horticultural Sciences, Ph.D., Plant Breeding, Plant Molecular And Cellular Biology, Plant Science, PMCB, Student, Teaching, UF/IFAS CALS

Breeding new crops and a new generation of plant breeders

by Scott Angle
January 24, 2022

The UF/IFAS team that has released more than 250 fruit, vegetable and other plant cultivars in the past decade is getting even stronger. Seven budding scientists from around the world arrived in Florida in August to work with Plant Breeders ... READ MORE

Category: Agribusiness, Agriculture, Crops, Curriculum, Fruits & Vegetables, Horticulture
Tags: Blueberries, CALS, EREC, Forages, GCREC, Lettuce, Ph.D., Plant Breeding, Small Grains, Strawberries, Tomatoes, TREC, UF-IFAS

UF/IFAS awarded 1st Ph.D. plant breeding program in Florida, one of few in USA

by Brad Buck
July 13, 2021

Working in labs and fields across Florida, a new generation of students will start earning a Ph.D. in plant breeding from the University of Florida – the first program of its kind in Florida and one of a few in the nation. The UF/IFAS College ... READ MORE

Category: UF/IFAS Research, UF/IFAS Teaching
Tags: Artificial Intelligence, Citrus, College Of Agricultural And Life Sciences, Corn, Crops, Elaine Turner, Environmental Benefits, Fiber, Forage, Gene Editing, Genetics, Global Food Security, Hunger, Lettuce, New Program, Peanuts, Ph.D., Plant Breeding, Strawberries, Tomatoes, Vance Whitaker

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