Fields: Plant genetics and breeding. Predictive breeding. Agriculture.

Interests: Bridge multi-omics data and statistical learning methods to sustain (and maybe accelerate) the rate of genetic gains in plants. Improve resource allocation in breeding programs. Design better crop varieties. Sustainable agriculture. Data science. Financial markets.

Working manuscripts

  • Genetic architecture of inter-specific and -generic grass hybrids by network analysis on multi-omics data

    The study elaborates on the use of Markov random fields (MRF) and likelihood-based (REML) multivariate mixed models for multi-omics (genomics, transcriptomics, and metabolomics) integration in forage hybrids.

  • Soybean tolerance to Asian rust (ASR)

    We investigated the genetic tolerance of soybean to Asian rust. The motivation lay in the fact that no single control strategy historically yielded stable high control rates at a reasonable cost. Tolerance is a mechanism of crop defense well known by farmers and breeders. However, its genetics remain poorly understood, especially for the soybean-P. pachyrhizi pathosystem.

Research projects

Here is a list o research projects that I have been involved with during the last years:

  1. C4FUTURE - Fortifying and enhancing resilience in C4 crops for current and future climate change adversities.
  2. IMFABA - Local and sustainable protein production with improved faba beans.
  3. ProFaba - Developing improved Vicia faba breeding practices and varieties to drive domestic protein production in the European Union.
  4. Breed4Biomass - Reverse breeding for biomass improvement in grasses.
  5. GreenSelect - Maximizing green grass breeding by second generation genomic selection.

Conferences

  • list here