
Ana L. Caicedo
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
Ana obtained her B.S. in Biology in 1996 at the Universidad de los Andes in Bogotá, Colombia. She left the lofty peaks of the Andes for the (flatter) environment of the Midwest U.S. to attend graduate school at Washington University in St. Louis; there she studied the population genetics of disease resistance genes in wild tomatoes and received her Ph.D. in 2003. During a postdoc at NC State, she carried out research on the evolutionary genomics of rice domestication and the population genetics of floral timing genes in Arabidopsis thaliana. Ana joined the UMass Biology faculty in 2006. Her current research interests include the genetic basis of adaptation, the genomics of plant domestication, and the population genetics of diversification within and between species.

Rachel Tavares
PhD student, Plant Biology
Rachel is a PhD student in the Plant Biology Graduate Program. She rotated in Fall 2019 and joined the lab in Spring 2020. She is most interested in endophytic microbes in weedy versus cultivated rice species. Previously, she worked at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center studying abscission zone development and using Setaria protoplast cells to create plant sensors.
e-mail: rltavares_at_umass.edu

Maryam Rashidzade
PhD student, Plant Biology
Maryam is a Ph.D. student in the Plant Biology Graduate Program. She rotated in Spring 2021 and joined the lab. She received B.S. and M.Sc. in Horticulture from the University of Tehran, Iran. She is mostly interested in population genetics, evolution, and plant-pathogen coevolution.
e-mail: mrashidzade_at_umass.edu

Ludmila Tyler
Collaborator
Ludmila Tyler is a Senior Lecturer in the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Department. Her interests include the genetics, cell walls, and developmental biology of plants, as well as bioenergy and undergraduate education. In the lab, her focus is on the genomics and natural variation of the model grass Brachypodium distachyon.
e-mail: ludmilat_at_umass.edu

Sherin Kanthi Perera
Technician
Sherin received her B.S. in Biology in 1987 at the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka. She has a Post Graduate Diploma in education too. For many years Sherin was a high school biology teacher in Sri Lanka. After immigrating to the U.S., Sherin volunteered for a summer in the lab and got some hands-on experience in rice phenotyping, DNA extraction, and challenging PCRs. Since then, she has been working in the lab as a technician. Sherin’s knowledge of rice growth and agriculture has proved to be a great resource for all, and her tasty Sri Lankan dishes are addictive.
e-mail: sherine_at_bio.umass.edu

Jessica Matheson
Undergraduate researcher, Biology
Jessica is an undergraduate Biology major with a focus on Cellular Biology and Genetics. In the Spring of 2022, she joined the Caicedo lab and continued her work with the lab throughout that summer. During this time, she gained valuable laboratory experience, particularly by assisting with the seed-shattering project in weedy rice. Jess is responsible for the lab’s undergraduate dodder research, studying the haustorial attachments of various dodder species to a variety of host plants. Her interests lay in microscopy, DNA extraction, and caring for her plants in the greenhouse.
email: jlmatheson_at_umass.edu

Isabelle Schramm von Blucher
Undergraduate researcher
Isabelle is an undergraduate Biology major with an interest in genetics and evolution. She joined the Caicedo Lab in the Fall of 2022 working with PhD student Mariam Rashidzade. In the lab, Isabelle has helped investigate the relationship between tomatoes and their co-evolved fungal pathogens.
e-mail: ischrammvonb_at_umass.edu

Brian Kubi
Undergraduate researcher
Brian is an undergraduate student majoring in biology. He joined the lab in Fall of 2023 and is currently working with PhD student Maryam Rashidzade. In the lab, Brian’s work focuses on the difference between wild type and domesticated tomatoes’ resistance against pathogens. He is interested in biotechnology research and industry.
e-mail: bkubi_at_umass.edu

Trey Bourassa
Undergraduate researcher
Trey is a class of 2026 undergraduate majoring in Plant and Soil Sciences. He joined the Caicedo lab in the fall of 2022. With interests in plant metabolism, rhizosphere interactions, and botany, Trey is planning to work in both research and industry of agriculture. He is currently an apprentice to PhD student Maryam Rashidzade.
e-mail: tbourassa_at_umass.edu

Allen French
Undergraduate researcher
Allen is an undergraduate Microbiology student with an interest in plant-microbe interactions and plant pathology. He joined the lab in spring of 2023 and continued his research into the summer. His work is centered on endophytic microbe extraction and isolation from the seeds of cultivated and weedy rice. He is engaged in this work as a part of a larger project that seeks to identify and analyze the plant microbe interactions that allow weedy rice to outcompete cultivated rice. His interests beyond this project lie in gardening and microbial soil ecology.

Aaron Cashton
Undergraduate researcher
Aaron is an undergraduate Biology major with a focus in genetics and microbiology. He joined in the fall of 2023 working with undergraduate Jessica Matheson on the dodder project, analyzing haustarical attachments of different dodder species and hosts. He is further interested in biotechnology research and industry and plans to find a career there.
e-mail: acashton_at_umass.edu
Christopher Faneuff
Undergraduate researcher
Alumni

Jake Barnett
OEB PhD student; graduated 2023
Where they went: Lecturer, Biology Department, UMass; follow #jakestomatoes on Instagram

Xiang Li
Plant Biology PhD student; graduated 2023
Where they went: Postdoctoral Researcher, Schmitz lab, University of Georgia

Elizabeth Labbe
Undergraduate researcher 2022-2023
Where they went: Dragonfly Therapeutics, Waltham, MA

Beenish Harris
Visiting Scholar 2022-2023
Where they went: CAMB University, Pakistan

Carter Hissam
Undergraduate Researcher 2019-2022
Where they went: Fulbright Fellowship in Australia

Phoebe Antonio
Undergraduate Researcher 2020-2022
Where they went:

Rovin Sharma
Undergraduate Researcher 2019-2022
Where they went:

Daniel Lowey
Undergraduate Researcher 2019-2022
Where they went: Preparing for med school

Gina Buonauro
Undergraduate Researcher 2020-2022
Where they went: Research Technician at TKL Research

Hamid Razifard
Postdoc 2016-2020
Where they went: Postdoctoral researcher, Margaret Frank’s lab, Cornell University

Gianna McNally
Undergraduate Researcher 2019-2021
Where they went: Suffolk University Law School

Jessica Lessard
Undergraduate researcher 2019-2021
Where they went: Temple University School of Pharmacy

Jacob Scott
Undergraduate researcher 2017-2020
Where they went: Biology graduate program, University of Florida

Ian Gillis
Plant Biology PhD student, graduated 2018

Zhongyun Huang
Plant Biology PhD student, graduated 2017
Where they went: Principal Scientist at Roche Bioinformatics

Verónica Hoyos
Visiting PhD student 2015-2016
Where they went: PhD in Agronomic Engineering, Universidad Nacional de Colombia

Altynay Zhanayeva
Plant Biology MSc student, graduated 2017
Where they went: Al-Farabi Kazhak National University

Stephanie Craig
Plant Biology MSc student, graduated 2013
Where they went: OMS III at Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine

Guido Armando Plaza Trujillo
Sabbatical Visitor, 2016
Where they went: Faculty in Ciencias Agrarias, Universidad Nacional de Colombia

Katie Hyma
Postdoc 2011-2012
Where they went: Cornell University Institute for Biotechnology

Michael Reagon
Postdoc 2007-2010
Where they went: Dept. of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, Ohio State University, Lima

Ned Young
Bioinformatician 2012-2014
Where they went: Science teacher at Amherst Regional High School

Carrie Thurber
Plant Biology PhD student, graduated 2012
Where they went: Quality Control Editor at Research Square Company

Shulin Zhang
Visiting Researcher 2015-2016
Where they went: Anyang Institute of Technology, China

Madelaine Boyle
Undergraduate researcher 2016-2018
Where they went: Build Engineer at Ginkgo Bioworks

Shannon Kelly
Undergraduate researcher 2015-2016

Madelaine Klein
Undergraduate researcher 2014-2016
Where they went: Clinical Research Coordinator, Massachusetts General Hospital

Rika Matsuo
Undergraduate researcher 2015-2016
Where they went: Renaissance School of Medicine

Angelina McKenna
Undergraduate researcher 2016-2017
Where they went: Clinical Research Assistant at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

Deborah Tschong
Undergraduate researcher 2013-2015
Where they went: Clinical Research Associate Lahey Hospital and Medical Center

Colette Kramer
Undergraduate researcher 2014

Katherine Day
Undergraduate researcher 2012- 2014
Where they went: Pharmacy Manager at Walgreens

Sara Goodwin
Undergraduate researcher 2011-2015
Where they went: Student at Sage College Graduate School

Jorge Rodriguez
Visiting undergraduate student 2013
Where they went: Universidad Nacional de Colombia

Lauren Resnick
Undergraduate researcher 2010-2012
Where they went: Master of Education (MEd) at University of Massachusetts Boston

Rafaela Dos Santos
Undergraduate researcher 2010-2012

Lauren Bishop
Undergraduate researcher 2010
Where they went: Master of Social Work, Springfield College

Justin Nicholatos
Undergraduate researcher 2009-2010
Where they went: Postdoctoral Scientist at Biogen

Nicole Eckart
Undergraduate researcher 2008- 2010
Where they went: Senior Applications Scientist at 10x Genomics

Mona Salameh
Undergraduate researcher 2007-2008
Where they went: General Dentist at Pacific Dental Services

Neil Kalra
Undergraduate researcher 2007-2008
Where they went: Server Administrator at UMass Memorial Medical Center
