Everglades Research and Education Center
EREC Graduate Students
Nur AsbaniPhD Student Nur Asbani is working under the supervision of Dr. Gregg Nuessly in the Entomology Department. Bani’s research is on the bioecology and pest status of rust mites on sugarcane. |
Bhim ChaulagainPhD Student Bhim Chaulagain is working on his PhD studies under the supervision of plant pathologists, Dr. Philippe Rott and Dr. Richard Raid; Dr. Nicholas Dufauld is also one of his advisors. His project involves the management of sugarcane rusts using fungicides, and Bhim is also developing a prediction model for sugarcane rust diseases. |
Andres Rodriguez, PhDPhD Student Andrés Rodríguez is a Soil and Water Science Department student working on soil subsidence and soil carbon under the supervision of Dr. Samira Daroub and Dr. Stefan Gerber. |
Murali Vuyyuru, PhDPhD Student Murali Vuyyuru is a graduate student working on his PhD in Agronomy under the supervision of Dr. Hardev Sandhu. . He is conducting research to determine the causes of yield decline in successively planted sugarcane and development of management practices to minimize or avoid this decline in yield. |
Wardatou BoukariPhD Student Wardatou Boukari has begun her doctoral studies under the direction of Dr. Philippe Rott in the EREC Plant Pathology Department. She is currently conducting transmission studies of Sugarcane yellow leaf virus (SCYLV) in Florida. |
Claire FriedrichsenPhD Student Claire Friedrichsen is examining decision-making processes in soil management; looking at how stakeholders in India and south Florida perceive soil management as part of the food system and their perception of how soil health relates to their own food security. She is a PhD candidate in the Soil and Water Sciences Department; working under the direction of Dr. Samira Daroub. |
Joaquin SaavadraMS Student Joaquin Saavedra is a master's student working with Dr. Mabry McCray in the Agronomy Department. He is working on a project with P and K rates for sugarcane grown in mineral soils in the EAA. |
Jay CapassoMS Student Jay Capasso is a master's student working under the direction of Dr. Jehangir Bhadha. Jay's research relates to the management of agricultural field ditch sediment and aquatic vegetation to reduce phosphorus loads in the Everglades agricultural area. |
Raphael Mereb NegrisoliMS Student Raphael Mereb Negrisoli is conducting his MS research in the Weed Science program under the supervision of Dr. Calvin Odero. His research is specifically involving evaluation of topramezone for postemergence weed control in sugar cane. |
Erik RoldanMS Student Erik Roldan is a master's student working with Dr. Julien Beuzelin in the Entomology Department. He is working on determining population levels of the sugarcane borer and its biological control agents under current sugarcane production practice in Florida. |
Michael KarounosMS Student Mike is a biological scientist working with Dr. Cherry, who is also his advisor. |
Kyle RichardsMS Student Kyle is a distance education student under the direction of Dr. Jehangir Bhadha, pursuing his masters in the Agroecology program at UF. His current research includes evaluating seed applied insecticides, and biologicals for efficacy, and seed safety against a broad spectrum of agricultural pests (focused on Lepidoptera, Hemiptera, and Coleoptera). Kyle’s research and professional goals include the discovery of a new seed applied insecticide, becoming a field agronomist, and eventually becoming a project/business development manager. |
Nan XuPhD Student Nan Xu is a PhD student working with Dr. Jehangir Bhadha in the Soil and Water Science Department. She is working on applying soil amendments for sugarcane production on Mineral Soils of South Florida to evaluate the short and long-term effects of application of organic amendments, such as bagasse, on sandy soils. |
Gustavo KreutzPhD Student Gustavo Kreutz is a Ph.D. student in the Horticultural Sciences Department and is working with Dr. Germán Sandoya. He is working in the breeding and genetics of lettuce for nutrient use efficiency; he is also interested in diseases that threaten the lettuce industry at the EAA. |
Anne MillsMS Student Annie Mills is originally from upstate New York and came to the University of Florida as a Cornell University graduate with a B.S. in Agricultural Sciences and minor in Entomology. Now, as an M.S. student in the UF Entomology & Nematology Department, she will be working with Dr. Julien Beuzelin where her research focuses on corn silk flies, the most severe ear-feeding insect pests infesting sweet corn in Florida. Her project specifically aims to develop a streamlined silk fly population monitoring tool, refine corn silk fly insecticidal control, and to disseminate research results to the sweet corn industry. |
Catherine BelislePhD Student Catherine Belisle is a Ph.D. student in the Horticultural Sciences Department working with Dr. Germán Sandoya. Her work is focused on postharvest quality of lettuce and other leafy vegetables produced in the EAA. |
Aline de Camargo SantosMS Student Aline de Camargo Santos is working on assessment of nitrogen sufficiency of sugarcane in shallow organic soils and sugarcane yield response to nitrogen fertilizer in these soils. Her advisor is Dr. Mabry McCray in the Agronomy Department. |
Wilfrid CalvinMS Student Wilfred Calvin is working with Dr. Julien Beuzelin on the Sugarcane aphid (Melanaphis sacchari) infestation in sorghum. His research project is on the assess-ment of cultural practices, natural enemies, alternate hosts and biological insecticides impact on sugarcane aphids infestations in sorghum in Haiti. Wilfred is doing part of his research in EREC and part in Haiti. |
Jonathan DillerMS Student Jonathan is a distance learner, his advisor is Dr. Samira Daroub. |
Rachelle BergerMS Student Rachelle's advisor is Dr. Samira Daroub. |
Kelly Mahan PercivallMS Student Kelly Mahan-Percivall is a graduate student focused on applied remediation strategies. Living along the Caloosahatchee, she has a vested interest in designing new technologies to reduce nutrient influx into the river from urban and agricultural runoff. |
Yuting FuMS Student Yuting Fu is a Master’s student in Soil and Water Sciences Department at UF working with Dr. Jehangir Bhadha. Her research is focused on evaluating the feasibility of using aquatic plants as pesticides (herbicide, insecticide, and fungicide). Some of the plants that will be tested are water lettuce, hydrilla, and water hyacinth. The goal is to conduct greenhouse trials to evaluate the allelopathic effects of the aquatic plants. |
Leandra GonzalezPhD Student Leandra Gonzalez is a PhD student working with Dr. Jehangir Bhadha, she plans on conducting her research on flooded rice cultivation in south Florida. Particularly the impact of flood-depths and drawdown on soil health and rice yields beginning in January 2019. Leandra is a Ronald McNair Graduate fellow and is interested in environmental education and outreach to close the gap between scientists and the general public |
Jesse MurrayMS Student Jesse Murray is a Master of Science student in the Horticultural Sciences Department working with Dr. Germán Sandoya. His work is related to Fusarium Wilt of lettuce, breeding and genetics. Jesse is also interested in outdoor adventuring, human health and nutrition, and international development. Jesse is also mentored by Dr. Richard Raid |
