Graduate students in the PB Program represent a diverse range of interests, linked by their passion for plants. The graduate students form a tight knit group that are part of a broader community of approximately 150 graduate students training in three other interdepartmental graduate programs at the University: Molecular and Cellular Biology (MCB); Neuroscience and Behavior (NSB); and Organismic and Evolutionary Biology (OEB). PB graduate students also interact with the 18 postdoctoral fellows that are associated with PB faculty labs.

Also, see what some of our former PB students are doing now!

PLANT BIOLOGY GRADUATE STUDENTS
Spring 2013

(alphabetical order)

Elisha Allan, PhD student
send email to Elisha
phone: 413.577.3303
Research advisor:
Dr. Geunhwa Jung
Education: MS in Zoology, 2008, University of New Hampshire

Amanda Bousquet, PhD student
send email to Amanda
phone: 413.577.3303
PhD rotations, Roberts Lab
Education: BS in Plant Biology, 2012, University of Vermont

Graham Burkart, PhD student
send mail to Graham
phone: 413.545.2656
Research interest: Study of how ROP GTPase regulates the process of tip growth
Research advisor: Dr. Magdalena Bezanilla
Education: BS in Botany, 2006, University of Vermont

David Chan Rodriguez, PhD student
send email to David
phone: 413.545.9622
Research advisor: Dr. Elsbeth Walker
Education: BS in Biochemical Engineering, Instituto Tecnologico de Merida, Mexico

Josh Coomey, PhD student
send email to Josh
phone: 413.545.4025
PhD rotations, Schnell Lab
Education: BS in Environmental Science, 2012, UMass Amherst

Stephanie Craig, MS student
send email to Stephanie
phone: 413.545.6042
Research advisor: Dr. Ana Caicedo
Education: BS in Biology, 2011, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Greg DeIulio, PhD student
send email to Greg
phone: 413.577.1827
Research advisor: Dr. Li-Jun Ma
Education: BS in Biochemistry, 2011, SUNY Albany

Dennis DePaolo, PhD student
send mail to Dennis
phone: 413.545.9622
Research advisor: Dr. Elsbeth Walker
Education: BS in Biology, 2009, SUNY Cortland

Ian Gillis, PhD student
send email to Ian
phone: 413.545.6042
Research advisor: Dr. Ana Caicedo
Education: BS in Plant Biology, 2007, University of Washington

Pubudu Handakumbura, PhD student
send email to Pubudu
phone: 413.545.6045
Research advisor: Dr. Sam Hazen
Education: BS in Plant Biotechnology, 2007, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka

Zhongyun Huang, PhD student
send email to Zhongyun
phone: 413.545.6042
Research advisor: Dr. Ana Caicedo
Education: BS in Biology, 2011, Fudan University

Scott Lee, PhD student
send email to Scott
phone: 413.545.6045
Research interest: Developing a better understanding of secondary cell wall biosynthesis and plant biomass conversion to biofuels
Research advisor: Dr. Sam Hazen
Education: BS in Biology, 2010, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Faith Ndlovu, PhD student
send email to Faith
Contact via Cranberry Exp. Station, E. Wareham, MA
phone: 508.295.2212 x 16
Research advisor: Dr. Peter Jeranyama
Education: BS in Crop Science, 2008, University of Zimbabwe

Sandra Romero Gamboa, PhD student
(on leave Spring 2013)
send mail to Sandra
phone: 413.545.9622
Education: BS in Microbiology, 2005, Universidad de Los Andes

Christina Stonoha, PhD student
send mail to Christina
phone: 413.577.1827
PhD rotations, Wang Lab
Education: BS in Biology, 2012, Sacred Heart University

Lakshmi Kattuputhur Sugavanam, PhD student
send mail to Lakshmi
phone: 413.545-4025
PhD rotations: Bezanilla Lab
Education: MS in Biotechnology, 2009, Bharathidasan University

Muvari Tjiurutue, PhD student
send mail to Muvari
phone: 413.577.1824
Research advisor: Dr. Lynn Adler
Education: BS in Molecular, Physiological and Environmental Biology, 2006, University of Namibia

Peter van Gisbergen, PhD student
send email to Peter
phone: 413.545.2656
Research advisor: Dr. Magdalena Bezanilla
Education: MS, Plant Cell Biology, 2008, Wageningen Agricultural University

Andrea Vu, PhD student
send email to Andrea
phone: 413.577-1827
Research Advisor: Dr. Robert Wick
Education: MS in Plant Pathology, 2011, University of Tennessee Knoxville. BS in Plant and Soil Science, 2008, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Barbara Wagner, PhD student
send mail to Barbara
phone: 413.545.2285
Research advisor: Dr. Anne Averill
Education: BS in Plant Biology, 2009, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

Colby Witherup, PhD student
send mail to Colby
phone: 413.545.6042
PhD rotations: Ma Lab
Education: MS in Plant Biology, 2012, Northwestern University

Shu-Zon Wu, PhD student
send email to Shu-Zon
phone: 413.545.2656
Research advisor: Dr. Magdalena Bezanilla
Education: BS in Botany, 2003, National Taiwan University