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.
Alex Raiyemo
Postdoctoral Researcher
Alex is an applied plant genomics and weed science researcher. He obtained his PhD at the University of Illinois where he worked on the genomics of sex chromosomes in weedy dioecious amaranths. He was also carried out postdoctoral research at Corteva Agriscience. Alex’s research in the Caicedo lab focuses on investigating the geographic and ecological drivers of genetic variation in the parasitic weed Cuscuta through landscape‑scale population genomics.
e-mail: draiyemo_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
Tori Ford
PhD student, Plant Biology
Tori Ford is a PhD student in the Plant Biology Graduate Program. They rotated in Fall 2024 and joined the lab in Spring 2025. They are mainly interested in the genetic underpinnings of Vavilovian mimicry in Vicia sativa. They are broadly interested in population genetics, biogeography, herbarium studies, species distribution modeling, and computational biology.
e-mail: toriford_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
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
Lab Alumni
Rachel Tavares
Plant Biology PhD student; graduated ’25
Where they went: Postdoc at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center
Jessica Matheson
Undergraduate Researcher 2022-2024
Lab Technician 2024-2025
Where they went: Genetics PhD program, University of Georgia
Nina Theis
Visiting sabbatical scholar 2025
Where they went: Elms College, Professor of Biology and co-Chair of the Division of Natural Science, Mathematics and Technology
Isabelle Schramm von Blucher
Undergraduate Researcher 2022-2025
Where they went: PA school
Brian Kubi
Undergraduate Researcher 2023-2025
Where they went: prepping for med school
Christopher Faneuff
Undergraduate Researcher 2023-2025
Where they went:
Allen French
Undergraduate Researcher 2023-204
Where they went: MS in Applied Molecular Biotechnology at UMass Amherst
Trey Bourassa
Undergraduate researcher 2022-2024
Where they went: undergraduate research in Ashley Keiser’s lab, Stockbridge School of Agriculture
Sherin Kanthi Perera
Technician 2008-2024
Where they went: retired!
Jake Barnett
OEB PhD student; graduated 2023
Where they went: Assistant Professor, Biology Department, Berkshire Community College; 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: PA program at South University in Tampa, Florida
Rovin Sharma
Undergraduate Researcher 2019-2022
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
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
Hamid Razifard
Postdoc 2016-2020
Where they went: Postdoctoral researcher, Margaret Frank’s lab, Cornell University
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
Sarah 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
