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Peggy Ozias-AkinsProfessor, Lab PI
pozias@uga.edu
Dr. Ozias-Akins is Professor of Horticulture and maintains a 95% research, 5% teaching appointment with a specialty in molecular genetics and plant developmental biology. She received her Ph.D. (1981) in Botany from the University of Florida and received a fellowship from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation for postdoctoral research at the Max-Planck-Institute for Plant Breeding in Cologne, Germany (1982-84). In addition to research activities, Dr. Ozias-Akins teaches a course on Agricultural Biotechnology at the Tifton Campus and is an undergraduate advisor. She also serves as an editor for Plant Cell Reports and In Vitro Plant, two journals that are internationally recognized in the area of plant cell and tissue culture. Dr. Ozias-Akins is a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the American Society of Plant Biology (ASPB), the American Society for Horticultural Science (AAAS), the International Society of Plant Molecular Biology (ISPMB), the Society for In Vitro Biology (SIVB) and the American Peanut Research and Education Society (APRES).
Research Interests - Genetic improvement of crops important to the Coastal Plain, especially peanut, pearl millet, and bermudagrass, facilitated by the application of molecular techniques including molecular markers and transformation; molecular genetic analysis of apomixis in Pennisetum. back to top
Emidio AlbertiniResearcher
emidio.albertini@fulbrightweb.org
Dr. Emidio Albertini is a Fulbright “Research Scholar” in the Ozias-Akins lab. His present position is Researcher, Department of Plant Biology and Agro-Environmental Biotechnology, University of Perugia, Italy. He received a Master Degree: Magna cum Laude, University of Perugia, February 1996, and PhD: Seed Science and Technology, University of Torino, Italy, November 1999. He performed his Post-Doc at the University of Perugia between November 1999 and November 2002.
His main topics of research are: i) plant reproductive systems mainly focused on apomixis in model species; ii) molecular pharming (in planta production of vaccines and pharmaceuticals); iii) molecular markers for mapping and for Marker Assisted Breeding; iv) genetic diversity studies: varietals and landraces characterization. Emidio is the author of 18 papers in refereed international journals and Coordinator of 2 MIUR (Italian Ministry for University and Research) and of 3 Regional projects. From 2002 he has organized the Apomixis workshop at the Plant and Animal Genome Conference held in San Diego, California, as well as co-organized Eucarpia 2006 (Perugia, Italy) and the III International Apomixis Conference (Wernigerode, Germany). More information can be found on his personal website: www.emidioalbertini.com
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Judith Anne BellResearch Technician III
brammer@uga.edu
Judith Anne Bell is a Research Technician III. She graduated from the University of Georgia with a MEd in Chemistry. She is a member of the American Chemical Society. Anne's principal responsibilities are aiding scientists in their research endeavors: preparing stock solutions and a variety of media upon which to culture plants, somatic embryos, and bacteria; maintaining inventories and disposal of hazardous waste; ordering chemicals, supplies, equipment, and radioactive isotopes. back to top
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Ye (Juliet) Chu Postdoctoral Associate
ychu@uga.edu
Dr. Ye (Juliet) Chu is a Postdoctoral Associate. Her current project activities include transgenic peanut resistant to tomato spotted wilt virus, molecular markers for nematode resistance, and peanut allergen gene expression. She graduated from the University of Georgia with a Ph.D. in Foods and Nutrition. Dr. Chu is a member of the Honor Society of Agriculture, Gamma Sigma Delta.
Research interests – Improve peanut resistance to tomato spotted wilt virus by genetic transformation; identify nematode resistance markers in peanut; characterize and silence peanut allergen genes. back to top
Joann A. Conner Postdoctoral Associate
jconner@uga.edu
Dr. Joann A. Conner is a Postdoctoral Associate in the Ozias-Akins lab. She graduated from Cornell University (1997) with a PhD. in plant molecular biology. She received a postdoctoral fellowship from the Life Sciences Research Foundation (1998-2001). She is a member of the American Society of Plant Biology (ASPB). She previously worked on projects including self-incompatibility in Brassica and floral development in Arabidopsis.
Her current project activities include genomic sequencing and analysis of potential "genic" sequences located at the Apospory-Specific Genomic Region (ASGR). Apomixis is the ability to clonally propagate through seed. She is working on two apomictic and closely related grass species, Pennisetum squamulatum and Cenchrus ciliaris. Her ultimate goal is to help identify the gene/genes responsible for apospory and to determine if the apomixis genes could be transferred and function in non-apomictic food crops. back to top
Paola FaustinelliVisiting Scientist
paolaf@uga.edu
Paola Faustinelli is a Visiting Scientist from Argentina. She graduated from Catholic University of Córdoba, Argentina with a degree in Agricultural Engineering. She completed her Master’s degree (2006) in Agricultural Sciences at the National University of Córdoba, Argentina. The title of her thesis is "Effect of hormonal regulation and physiological aging of the explant source in the regeneration ability of peanut, Florman INTA variety".
Paola's current project activities include development of transgenic peanut with silenced allergen genes. She is transforming embryogenic cultures of peanut by the direct DNA delivery method using a biolistic gene gun. She has recently been involved in a project aimed at developing aflatoxin-resistant peanut. Her objective is to test these transgenic plants by PCR, Southern Analysis, In Vitro Bioassay and Enzyme Activity Assay. Paola is interested in the area of Plant Tissue Culture, Molecular Biology and Genetic Transformation with special focus in peanut, one of the most important crops in the province of Argentina where she is from. She will improve in the application of molecular techniques and regeneration systems. back to top
 Huo.JPG)
Heqiang (Alfred) Huo Ph.D. Candidate
hhq@uga.edu
Heqiang Huo, who came to University of Georgia in 2003, is currently pursuing his Ph.D. degree in the Ozias-Akins lab. His research interests focus on asexual plant reproduction in Pennisetum squamulatum. The projects involved in his research include functional analysis of a potential candidate apomixis gene by using RNAi and over-expression and developing apomixis-linked markers by using S-SAP which is a technique based on LTR-retrotransposons and AFLP. back to top
Evelyn P. Morgan Agricultural Research Coordinator II
epmorgan@uga.edu
Evelyn is an Agricultural Researcher Coordinator II and coordinates biotechnology research (tissue culture, greenhouse and field work) on peanut, pearl millet, bermudagrass and apomixis as it is directly related to gene transfer and development of transgenic plants as well as genetic and molecular analysis of gene content and expression. Coordination is required to insure that research technicians and temporary personnel are properly trained in equipment/facility use, standard operating procedures, data collection and analysis and safety standards. back to top
Maria Laura Ramos Postdoctoral Associate
lramos@uga.edu or 229-391-2594
Dr. Maria Laura Ramos is a Postdoctoral Associate whose current project activities include molecular characterization of peanut allergen genes in order to develop a peanut variety with reduced allergenicity through RNA-mediated gene silencing or a non-trangenic approach known as TILLING. Dr. Ramos graduated (2003) from the University of Cordoba, Argentina with a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology, specifically related to pathogen-derived resistance. For this purpose, she received a fellowship from CONICET, Argentina. Concurrently, as Biologist at the IFFIVE-INTA, she developed two kinds of polyclonal antiserum against native and recombinant N protein of Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus. In addition to research activities, she was a Workshop Instructor for the chair of General Genetics at the School of Physics and Exact and Natural Sciences, Cordoba National University, Argentina (2000-2002). back to top
Manjit SinghPostdoctoral Associate
msingh@uga.edu or 229-391-2594
Manjit Singh is a postdoctoral research associate in the lab working on apomixis gene discovery in Pennisetum. The project is focused on investigating the structure and function of genomic regions associated with apomixis in Pennisetum species and relatives. Manjit obtained his PhD from the University of Melbourne working on transcriptional regulation in the male gametic cell in Lillium pollen. He has prior postdoctoral experience from the Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research and Texas A&M University on female gametophyte and seed development. back to top
Song Zhang Postdoctoral Associate
szhang@uga.edu or 229-391-2594
Dr. Song Zhang is a Postdoctoral Associate. Under the guidance of Dr. Wayne Hanna, Crop and Soil Sciences and in collaboration with Dr. Ozias-Akins, her current project activities include genetic improvement of bermudagrasses. Dr. Zhang graduated from the Shenyang Agricultural University, China with a PhD. in Plant Genetics and Breeding. She worked as a postdoc in the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences and as a senior scientist in Konkuk University, South Korea before she came here.
Research interests – Genetic improvement of turf grasses towards herbicide- and disease-resistance, especially in bermudagrass and centipede grass.back to top
 Zeng.JPG)
Yajuan ZengPhD student
yjzeng@uga.edu or 229-391-2594
Jane (Yajuan) Zeng is a PhD student in the Ozias-Akins lab since 2004. She is a native of Fujian province of China. She has a Bachelor’s degree in biology and a Master’s degree in botany from Fujian Normal University. Her Master’s research was on root phosphate transporters in wheat. Her dissertation research project is to study genes differentially expressed in ovaries during apomictic development in Pennisetum. She is also involved in the characterization of genes located in the apospory specific genomic region (ASGR) in Pennisetum. back to top
Peggy Ozias-Akins, Lab PI, Professor,
Department of Horticulture and NESPAL, The University of Georgia, Tifton Campus
email pozias@uga.edu • phone (229) 386-3902 • fax (229) 386-7371
Billing Address • P.O. Box 748, Tifton, GA 31793-0748
Physical Address • 2356 Rainwater Road, Tifton, GA 31794
Yukio Akiyama Post Doctoral Associate
AkiyamaYukio@yahoo.com
Dr. Yukio Akiyama was a Postdoctoral Associate with a specialty in molecular cytology and genetics. His project activities were mainly mutagenesis and chromosome research for apomixis. He determined the physical size of the ASGR (Apospory-Specific Genomic Region) to be ~50 Mbp and located it to a heterochromatic region of the chromosome.
Previously, Dr. Akiyama successfully developed the image analysis system for evaluation of rice grain and received his Ph. D. (1997) in Bio-Engineering from Nagaoka University of Technology, Niigata, Japan. After graduation, he worked as a Domestic Research Fellow, Japan Science and Technology Corporation, Hokuriku National Agricultural Experiment for three years (1998-2001). While there, he developed a highly sensitive FISH (fluorescent in situ hybridization) method and chromosome image analysis system.
Research Interests – Plant molecular cytological and molecular genetic analysis of apomixis in Pennisetum. back to top
Xiangyang DengPostdoctoral Associate
xiangyangdeng@yahoo.com
Dr. Xiangyang Deng was a Postdoctoral Associate with a specialty in molecular biology and plant genetics. His project activities were to transfer the human Bcl-xl (anti-apoptosis) gene into the elite peanut cultivar Georgia Green in order to create multiple-stress-resistant peanut lines.
Dr. Deng graduated from Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China with a Ph.D. in Genetics with a reputation honored CAS DiAo Award (Top Rank). His Ph.D. dissertation is on in vitro somatic embryogenesis and genetic transformation of two legume crops---soybean and peanut. After graduation, he worked as a leader of a research group on DNA oligo-microarray, in United Gene Holding (Groups), Ltd. and its sub-affiliated corporation Shanghai BioStar GeneChip Corporation. He received his Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Nankai University, Tianjin, China (1987-1991). Then he had four-years (1991-1995) work experience in a biomedical industry and research lab, which involved successful yeast strain breeding using ultraviolet and EMS mutagenesis, producing ELISA kits to detect human hormones, and working as a research assistant in cloning new IL-2 (interleukin-2) induced genes using DDRT-PCR (differential display reverse transcription PCR). Dr. Deng is a member of the China Biotechnology Association and the China Plant Physiology Association. back to top
Research interests – Plant biology and genetic engineering; Bio-medical research using techniques in biochemistry and molecular biology.
Shailendra Goel Postdoctoral Associate
shailendragoel@gmail.com
Dr. Shailendra Goel, Postdoctoral Associate, worked on a project aimed at improving our understanding of a naturally occurring phenomenon called apomixis. Apomixis is a mode of asexual propagation, also defined as “clonal propagation through seeds”. The project aimed to characterize and understand the structure of the Apospory Specific Genomic Region (ASGR) and to look for the possible candidate genes governing the trait. Various molecular, genomic and cytological approaches were undertaken to achieve this goal including PCR, Southern analysis, ISH (In-Situ Hybridization), sequencing, AFLPs etc.
Dr. Goel earned his Ph.D. degree in Botany (Molecular and Cellular Cytogenetics) from the University of Delhi, India. He earned a national scholarship (University Grant Commission) during his Ph.D. program. He was ranked 12th (98.95 percentile) in a prestigious national level test (Graduate Aptitude Test for Engineering) conducted by Indian institute of technology. His Ph.D. thesis is a study of the existing evolutionary relationship within/between two economically important genera Phaseolus and Vigna based on rDNA analysis using southern blots and sequencing. After his Ph.D. he worked as a scientist on a Biodiversity project trying to characterize various medicinally important plants from the Himalayan region using molecular, biochemical and cytogenetic techniques.
Research interests – genome organization, chromatin structure, chromosome dynamics, genetics, cell cycle. back to top
Gunawati Gunawan Agriculture Research Coordinator I
gunawan@uga.edu
Gunawati Gunawan was an Agriculture Research Coordinator I whose project activities included genetic analysis of apomixis in grasses (Pennisetum and Cenchrus) and sequencing. She graduated from North Dakota State University with a MS in Biochemistry.
Research interests - comparative genetics of apomictic and sexual Pennisetum and Cenchrus, comparative genomic analysis of the apospory specific genomic region (ASGR) in Pennisetum/Cenchrus and model cereals (rice and sorghum), gene expression in apomictic and sexual grasses, and tissue culture. back to top
Vishvas KulkarniPostdoctoral Associate
vishvas_kulkarni@yahoo.com
Dr. Vishvas M. Kulkarni was a Visiting Scientist involved in genetic transformation of sexual and apomictic Pennisetum genotypes with BAC fragments isolated from the Apospory Specific Genomic Region (ASGR) and using the selectable marker gene, arabitol dehydrogenase (atlDS).
He obtained the M.Sc. (Plant Breeding), and Ph.D. (Biotechnology) degrees from the M.P. Agricultural University and Mysore University, respectively. After spending a few years at Plant Molecular Biology Group, NCL, India and All India Coordinated Pearl Millet Improvement Project, in 1993 he joined Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), India, as a Scientific Officer where he is involved in collaborative research projects and has guided graduate/postgraduate students. He participated and chaired a session at FAO/IAEA organized international seminar held at Manila-Philippines in 1999. Vishvas has research publications in national-international journals, symposia and workshops.
Research interests – His work at BARC involves genetic manipulation of Banana and Pearl Millet using tissue culture and molecular biological approaches. back to top