Project Personnel – Complete

Cucurbit Breeding

Here you will find the complete list of project personnel in chronological order. We also have the current list of project personnel. New personnel: see getting established.

Project Leaders

1. Warren Barham, Associate Professor (watermelon breeding)
2. Warren Henderson, Professor (watermelon breeding)
3. Richard Lower, Professor (cucumber breeding)
4. Todd Wehner, WNR Distinguished Professor (cucumber, watermelon and stevia breeding)

Technicians

1. Gloria Abad, Pathology technician
2. Rufus Horton, Field and greenhouse technician
3. Tammy Ellington, Field and greenhouse technician
4. Louis Jackson, Pathology technician
5. Julia Jenkins, Greenhouse technician
6. Meri Reeber, Greenhouse technician
7. Brook Parker, Greenhouse technician
8. Jamie Hunter, Greenhouse technician
9. Samuel Chen, Greenhouse technician
10. Allen Gordon, Greenhouse technician
11. Jennifer Penn, Greenhouse technician
12. Rita Allen, Greenhouse technician
13. Becca Furmage, Greenhouse technician
14. Laura Arellano, Greenhouse technician
15. Briana Boaz, Field technician
16. Wei-Wen Guo, Laboratory technician
17. Anne Hoover, Project assistant (Greenhouse)
18. Thomas Froass, Project assistant (Field)
19. Tony Scott, Project assistant (Greenhouse)
20. Sonja Lombard, Project assistant (Greenhouse)
21. Nathanael Andersen, Summer assistant (Field)
22. Terri Williams, Project assistant (Lab)
23. Daniel Reiland, Project assistant (Propagation)
24. Charlie Gantt, Summer assistant (Field)
25. Emily Silverman, Project specialist
26. Danny Wisnowski, Project assistant (Field)
27. Glenn Bolyard, Lab assistant (Propagation)

Scientists/Postdocs (nationality, title, research, years, articles, reports)

1. Lambertus Smeets (Institute for Horticultural Plant Breeding, Wageningen, The Netherlands), Visiting Scientist-Chilling resistance in cucumber, 1988-1997
2. El-Mahdy I. Metwally (Tanta University, Kafr El-Sheikh, Egypt), Visiting Scientist, Cucumber breeding, 1989-1990
3. Jinsheng Liu (Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, P.R. China), Visiting Scientist, Gene linkage in cucumber, 1996-1997
4. Christopher S. Cramer (University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, U.S.A.), Postdoctoral Research Associate, Gummy stem blight resistance in watermelon, 1997-1998
5. Fred McCuistion (University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, U.S.A.), Postdoctoral Research Associate, Tetraploid inbred production in watermelon, 1998-1999
6. Baljit Singh Bhyan (Department of Horticulture, Haryana, India), Visiting Scientist, Cucumber seed research, August-December 2000
7. Inder Jeet Malik (Department of Horticulture, Haryana, India), Visiting Scientist, Luffa seed germination, August-December 2000
8. Pahup Singh (Department of Horticulture, Haryana, India), Visiting Scientist, Watermelon cold germination, August-December 2000
9. Satyapal Singh (Department of Horticulture, Haryana, India), Visiting Scientist, Watermelon cold germination, August-December 2000
10. RongHao Song (Plant Protection Institute, Shanghai, P.R. China), Visiting Scientist, Gummy stem blight resistance in watermelon, 1998-2001
11. JiaHua Xie (Zhejiang Agricultural University, Hangzhou, P.R. China), Postdoctoral Research Associate, Transgenic nematode resistance in cucumber, 1998-2001
12. Ramesh Kumar (India), Visiting Scientist, Yield of heirloom watermelon cultivars, 2001
13. Vijay Joshi (National Chemical Laboratory, Pune, India), Postdoctoral Research Associate, Transgenic nematode resistance in cucumber, 2001-2002
14. Yong Xu (Beijing, P.R. China), Visiting Scientist, Molecular markers for watermelon disease resistance, 2002-2003
15. Elzbieta Kozik (Poland), Visiting Scientist, Chilling resistance in cucumber, 2003-2005
16. Urszula Klosinska (Poland) Visiting Scholar, Downy mildew resistance in cucumber, 2007
17. Shengping Zhang (P.R. China) Visiting Scholar, High yield in watermelon, 2007
18. Marlen Taja Moreno (Mexico) Visiting Scholar, The genes of minor cucurbit crops, 2008
19. Venkatachalam Rajashree (India) Visiting Scientist, Cucurbit breeding, 2009
20. Huseyin Tumturk (Turkey) Visiting Scholar, Parthenocarpic greenhouse cucumbers, 2010
21. ShengPing Zhang (P.R. China) Visiting Scholar, High yield in watermelon, 2011
22. QingHua Shi (P.R. China) Visiting Scientist, Mutation breeding in watermelon, 2012
23. WeiHua Zhang (P.R. China) Visiting Scientist, Dihaploid cucurbits, 2013
24. George Kotch (Syngenta) Visiting Scientist, Development of cucurbit breeding focus area, 2013
25. Subramaniapillai Murugan (India) Visiting Scientist, Mutation breeding in cucumber, 2015
26. Rachel Naegele (Michigan State University) Research Associate, Mutation breeding in watermelon, 2015
27. Encarnacion Aguado (Spain) Visiting Scholar, Watermelon leaf morphology, 2017
28. Baoshan Kang (PR China) Visiting Scholar, Watermelon disease resistance, 2017
29. Mahendra Dia (India) Visiting Scientist, Genotype x environment interaction, 2015-2017
30. Jitendra Dapke (India), Visiting Scientist, Downy mildew resistance in cucumber, 2018
31. Luis Rivera (Purdue University) Research Associate, Disease resistance in watermelon, 2016-2018
32. Elzbieta Kozik (Poland), Visiting Scientist, Chilling resistance in stevia, 2018
33. Yucesan Buhara (Turkey), Visiting Scientist, Culture of stevia, 2018-2019
34. Nebahat Sari (Turkey), Visiting Scientist, Propagation of stevia, 2019-2020

Graduate Students (nationality, support, thesis, degree, year, employment, articles, reports)

1. Joseph T. Sloane (U.S.A.), RA – Belly rot resistance in cucumber, MS 1984: Currently sales representative for VWR Scientific.
2. Denis R. Ramirez (Honduras), RA – Source sink relationships in cucumber, PhD 1984: Chief Scientist, Honduras Agricultural Research Foundation.
3. David B. Rubino (U.S.A.), RA – Early testing for yield in cucumber, MS 1984: Currently plant breeder (floriculture) for USDA, Beltsville.
4. G. Ineke Booy (Netherlands), Fellowship – Damping off resistance in cucumber, Ir 1985: Currently plant scientist in The Netherlands.
5. Mark S. Strefeler (U.S.A.), RA – Selection indexes in cucumber, MS 1985: Currently professor of horticulture (floricultural breeding) at University of Minnesota.
6. Rebecca M. Cade (U.S.A.), RA – Tissue culture of cucumber, MS 1989: Currently research specialist at Syngenta in Research Triangle Park, NC.
7. William H. McCarthy (U.S.A.), RA – Protoplast fusion of Cucumis species, MS 1989: Currently plant breeder (pepper) for Seminis Vegetable Seeds in Florida.
8. S. Alan Walters (U.S.A.), TA – Nematode resistance in cucumber, MS 1991: Currently professor of Plant Science (vegetable breeding) at Southern Illinois Univ.
9. Jorge S. Christlieb (Mexico), RA – Early flowering in cucumber, MS 1992: Currently sales representative for Seminis Vegetable Seeds.
10. Michael S. Uchneat (U.S.A.), RA – Belly rot resistance in cucumber, MS 1993: Currently plant breeder (floriculture) for PanAmerican Seed.
11. Paul C. St. Amand (U.S.A.), RA – Gummy stem blight resistance in cucumber, PhD 1993: Currently USDA-ARS research geneticist in agronomy (alfalfa breeding) at Kansas State Univ.
12. Nischit V. Shetty (India), TA – Oriental trellis cucumber systems, MS 1996: Currently director of plant breeding for Seminis Vegetable Seeds.
13. Christopher S. Cramer (U.S.A.), RA – Yield components in cucumber, PhD 1997: Currently professor of horticulture and agronomy (onion breeding) at New Mexico State Univ.
14. S. Alan Walters (U.S.A.), RA – Nematode resistance in cucumber, PhD 1997: Currently professor of Plant Science (vegetable breeding) at Southern Illinois Univ.
15. Tammy L. Ellington (U.S.A.), RA – Screening luffa for sponge yield and quality, MS 2000: Research specialist (retired) at North Carolina State Univ.
16. Nischit V. Shetty (India), RA – Screening cucumber for yield, PhD 2000: Currently director of plant breeding for Seminis Vegetable Seeds.
17. E. Bruton Strange (U.S.A.), Fellowship – Screening watermelon for papaya ringspot virus resistance, MS 2000: Currently greenhouse nursery operator in Maine.
18. Grant P. Neppl (U.S.A.), RA – Efficient testing for yield in watermelon, MS 2001: Currently assistant plant breeder (watermelon) at Limagrain (HM Clause) Seed Company in Woodland, California.
19. Gabriele Gusmini (Italy), RA – Gummy stem blight resistance in watermelon, MS 2003: Currently Global R&D Director of Crop Science at PepsiCo Inc. in Minnesota and New York.
20. Nihat Guner (Turkey), Fellowship – Inheritance of papaya ringspot virus resistance in watermelon, PhD 2004: Currently plant breeder (watermelon) at Sakata Seed Co. in Florida.
21. Gabriele Gusmini (Italy), RA – Genetic control of important fruit traits in watermelon, PhD 2005: Currently Global R&D Director of Crop Science at PepsiCo Inc. in Minnesota and New York.
22. Melisa Crane (U.S.A.), self-supported – Dwarf patio cucumbers, MHS 2005: Currently medical assistant, Duke Hospital, Durham NC.
23. Jiyoung Oh (South Korea), RA – Growth regulators for control of sex expression in watermelon, MS 2008: Currently researcher in North Carolina.
24. Antonia Tetteh (Ghana), RA – Powdery mildew resistance in watermelon, PhD 2008: Currently instructor at Kwame Nkruma University in Ghana.
25. Adam Criswell (U.S.A.), RA – New sources of downy mildew resistance in cucumber, MS 2008: Currently plant breeder (hemp) at seed company in California.
26. Rakesh Kumar (India), RA – Heritability of yield in watermelon, PhD 2009: Currently plant breeder (melon) at Syngenta Seeds in California.
27. Lingli Lou (P.R. China), self-supported – Inheritance of watermelon fruit traits, MS 2009: Currently researcher in New York.
28. Adam Call (U.S.A.), RA – Inheritance of downy mildew resistance in cucumber, MS 2010: Currently plant breeder (cucumber) at Limagrain (HM Clause) Seed Co. in Woodland, California.
29. Mahendra Dia (India), RA – Stability for yield in watermelon, PhD 2011: Currently bioinformatics and information systems in Washington DC.
30. Adam Call (U.S.A.), RA – Inheritance of downy mildew resistance in cucumber, PhD 2012: Currently plant breeder (cucumber) at Limagrain (HM Clause) Seed Co. in California.
31. Shen Ma (P.R. China), RA – Screening for resistance to bacterial fruit blotch in the watermelon germplasm collection, PhD 2013: Currently researcher in Silicon Valley.
32. Kyle Vandenlangenberg (U.S.A.), RA – Inheritance of downy mildew resistance in cucumber, PhD 2014: Currently fruit breeder (strawberry, bramble) for California Berry Cultivars.
33. Brandon Huber (U.S.A.), RA – Optimization of breeding systems for stevia, MS 2017: Currently graduate assistant at North Carolina State Univ.
34. Jordan Hartman (U.S.A.), RA – Inheritance of citrulline, arginine and lycopene content in two watermelon populations, MS 2017: Currently graduate assistant at Ohio State Univ.
35. James Daley (U.S.A.), RA – Screening for resistance to bacterial fruit blotch in the watermelon germplasm collection, PhD 2018: Currently squash/pumpkin breeder for HM Clause, Davis CA.
36. Takshay Patel (India), RA – Screening for resistance to anthracnose in the watermelon germplasm collection, PhD 2018: Currently assistant breeder, watermelon, VoloAgri Seeds, Yolo CA.
37. Lauren Arteman (U.S.A.), RA – Optimum production systems for parthenocarpic pickling cucumber, MS 2018: Currently researcher at RTP.
38. Emily Silverman (U.S.A.), RA – Seed physiology of stevia, PhD 2021: Currently associate breeder at Plant Pathways Co.

Project Assistants / Work-Study Students

1. Jeff Williams, Greenhouse assistant
2. Beverly Hash, Pathology assistant
3. Debbie Edwards, Greenhouse assistant
4. Craig Williams, Greenhouse assistant
5. Teresa Bunch, Greenhouse assistant
6. Dane Fisher, Greenhouse assistant
7. Bengie Whisnant, Greenhouse assistant
8. Randall Burris, Greenhouse assistant
9. Amy Sowell, Greenhouse assistant
10. Caz Molnar, Greenhouse assistant
11. Tammy Everett, Greenhouse assistant
12. Tammy Ellington, Greenhouse assistant
13. Renee Woody, Greenhouse assistant
14. Cindy Patton, Greenhouse assistant
15. William Alexander, Greenhouse assistant
16. Lori Miller, Greenhouse assistant
17. Leigh Anne Carter, Greenhouse assistant
18. Isaac Council, Greenhouse assistant
19. Anthony Lea, Greenhouse assistant
20. Jim Thompson, Greenhouse assistant
21. Todd Parrish, Greenhouse assistant
22. Susan Hamilton, Greenhouse assistant
23. Vincent Timpanelli, Greenhouse assistant
24. Anthony LeBude, Greenhouse assistant
25. Michelle Brooks, Greenhouse assistant
26. Beau Willsey, Greenhouse assistant
27. Suleman Vora, Greenhouse assistant
28. Karen Maguylo, Greenhouse assistant
29. Matthew McLennan, Greenhouse assistant
30. Mario Mason, Greenhouse assistant
31. Aaron Teller, Greenhouse assistant
32. Charles Goodman, Greenhouse assistant
33. Terry Gregory, Field assistant
34. Jeffrey Godwin, Greenhouse assistant
35. James Nelson, Greenhouse assistant
36. Jeffrey Langley, Greenhouse assistant
37. Gabriele Gusmini, Greenhouse assistant
38. Julia Parman, Greenhouse assistant
39. Harmeet Singh, Greenhouse assistant
40. Justin Helms, Lab assistant
41. Dale Hyatt, Greenhouse assistant
42. Thanh Nguyen, Lab assistant
43. Timothy Nifong, Greenhouse assistant
44. Caroline Reddy, Greenhouse assistant
45. Preston Nelson, Greenhouse assistant
46. Mark Chen, Greenhouse assistant
47. Dustin Gilley, Greenhouse assistant
48. John Harrelson, Greenhouse assistant
49. Kenneth McArtan, Greenhouse assistant
50. Craig Wence, Greenhouse assistant
51. Jamie Hunter, Office assistant
52. Bethany Clark, Office assistant
53. Duc Nguyen, Office assistant
54. Angela Lewis, Field assistant
55. Santos Flores, Field assistant
56. Samuel Chen, Greenhouse assistant
57. Thanh-Trinh Doan, Laboratory assistant
58. Tiffany Stewart, Office assistant
59. TJ Miller, Greenhouse assistant
60. Adam Call, Field assistant
61. Malcolm Hinton, Greenhouse assistant
62. Stephen Lau, Greenhouse assistant
63. Susan Hwang, Office assistant
64. Erica Pineiro, Laboratory assistant
65. Jake Watts, Laboratory assistant
66. Kalon Ho, Laboratory assistant
67. Zach Wrench, Greenhouse assistant
68. Victor Castillo, Greenhouse assistant
69. Jonathan Hebert, Laboratory assistant
70. George Joseph, Laboratory assistant
71. Kirsten Yelton, Office assistant
72. Marisa Smith, Office assistant
73. Ian Jones, Greenhouse assistant
74. Hannah Simpson, Laboratory assistant
75. Ariana Taylor, Greenhouse assistant
76. Peyton Daly, Greenhouse assistant
77. Wesley Jones, Greenhouse assistant
78. Varun Kachroo, Greenhouse assistant
79. Laura Daly, Office assistant
80. Malik Godwin, Field assistant
81. Jessica Rojas, Lab assistant
82. Emre Eyupoglu, Field assistant
83. Ryan Cockman, Greenhouse assistant
84. Natasha Poteet, Greenhouse assistant
85. Carrie Hutchens, Office assistant
86. Luis Lopez Zuniga, teaching assistant
87. Tony Murray, Lab assistant
88. Takshay Patel, Field assistant
89. Andre Turican, Greenhouse assistant
90. Briya Thomas, Greenhouse assistant
91. Stephanie Maggio, Greenhouse assistant
92. Abel Walker, Field assistant
93. Chayla Damon, Greenhouse assistant
94. Brian Chen, Greenhouse assistant
95. Olivia Sawyer, Greenhouse assistant
96. Phillip Tasilly, Greenhouse assistant
97. Desteen Scott, Lab assistant
98. Kolby Clark, Greenhouse assistant
99. Sarah Peterson, Greenhouse assistant
100. Sicely Sohn, Greenhouse assistant
101. David Denton, Greenhouse assistant
102. Christin Gest, Intern
103. Jasmine Hamilton, Greenhouse assistant
104. Damon Thornton, Greenhouse assistant
105. Matthew Bell, Field assistant
106. Clint Blankenship, Field assistant
107. Meaghan Keffer, Field assistant
108. Zion Creech, Greenhouse assistant
109. Daniel Wisnowski, Field assistant
110. Chris Campbell, Greenhouse assistant
111. Samuel Lackey, Greenhouse assistant
112. Rachel Perry, Greenhouse assistant
113. Hubert Boadu, Greenhouse assistant
114. Elliott Hall, Greenhouse assistant
115. Grayson Mills, Greenhouse assistant
116. Hannah Massengill, Greenhouse assistant
117. Megan Botzenhart, Greenhouse assistant
118. David Moretto, Research intern
119. Austin Acree, Field assistant
120. Kyle Findlan, Field assistant
121. Karleigh Kershner, Greenhouse assistant
122. Alexander Trovillion, Field assistant

Other Personnel

1. Judy Bridges, Assistant web editor
2. Marie Hall, Secretary
3. Saurabh Misrah, Assistant web editor
4. Chris Barrett, Assistant web editor
5. Chris Glenn, Assistant web editor
6. Elaine Levin, Office assistant
7. Mary Lorscheider, Assistant web editor
8. Sandie Wash, Accounting assistant