Kayla R. Altendorf, Ph.D. (she/her)Kayla is the Principal Investigator for the Lab. Kayla earned her M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Applied Plant Sciences with an emphasis in Plant Breeding and Molecular Genetics from the University of Minnesota, and her B.A. degree in Environmental Studies with a minor in Hispanic Studies from the College of Saint Benedict/St. John's University. In 2020, she joined USDA-ARS as a Research Geneticist in Prosser, WA and has since been working to establish a new public hop breeding program.
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Anna Tawril, M.S.Anna is a Biological Science Technician with USDA-ARS. She holds a MS degree in Biology from Oakland University, and a BS in Conservation Biology from the University of Michigan. Anna joined the team in Fall 2020 and manages the day-to-day operations of the breeding program, including our greenhouse, lab, and field activities. Anna contributes to lab safety, purchasing, and providing technical supervision to our temporary research assistants.
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Rain Freeman, B.S.Rain is a Biological Science Technician with USDA-ARS. She holds a B.S. degree in Biology from Western Washington University. Rain joined our Team in July 2023 and manages several grant-funded projects focused on breeding for disease and pest resistance. Rain brings experience in forestry, botany, marine biology, and peach breeding. Rain contributes to lab safety, purchasing, and providing technical supervision to our temporary research assistants.
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Patrick Woods, Ph.D.Patrick comes to us from Lodi – a town in the heart of California’s great central valley. Having been raised on a dairy farm, Patrick developed a passion for agriculture and plants in his youth which formed the basis for his academic interests. In 2017, Patrick received his Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of San Francisco where he focused on analyzing the population genetic structure of California native flora. Following his bachelor’s degree, Patrick started his PhD at Colorado State University to further study the genetics of plants with an emphasis on identifying genomic regions controlling agriculturally important traits in various crop species. Patrick completed his PhD in 2023 and subsequently began working as a computational biologist for the USDA’s hop breeding program.
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Research Assistants
Present:
Brissa Gutierrez, Research Assistant (December 2023 - Present)
Marcos Prieto, Research Assistant (April 2024 - Present)
Past:
Brandon Godinez, Research Assistant (April 2023 - November 2023)
Michael Haughee, Research Assistant (Summer 2023)
AJ Musselman, Research Assistant (August 2022 - August 2023)
Sierra Olsen, Research Assistant (Summers 2022 and 2023)
Abby Albrecht, Research Assistant (Summers 2022 and 2023)
Aida Roy, Research Assistant (Summers 2021 and 2022)
Taylor Thurston, Research Assistant (Summer 2022)
Millie Mancias, Research Assistant (Summer 2023)
Brissa Gutierrez, Research Assistant (December 2023 - Present)
Marcos Prieto, Research Assistant (April 2024 - Present)
Past:
Brandon Godinez, Research Assistant (April 2023 - November 2023)
Michael Haughee, Research Assistant (Summer 2023)
AJ Musselman, Research Assistant (August 2022 - August 2023)
Sierra Olsen, Research Assistant (Summers 2022 and 2023)
Abby Albrecht, Research Assistant (Summers 2022 and 2023)
Aida Roy, Research Assistant (Summers 2021 and 2022)
Taylor Thurston, Research Assistant (Summer 2022)
Millie Mancias, Research Assistant (Summer 2023)