Jeffrey Ross-Ibarra -- Jeff is an Assistant Professor in the Dept. of Plant Sciences and the UC Davis Genome Center. He started at UC Davis in 2009.

Paul Bilinski -- Paul is a graduate student from the department of Plant Biology who joined the lab in the spring of 2010.  He graduated with a BS/MS degree in ecology from the University of California at San Diego, and returned for his PhD to broaden his ability to analyze data.  He is interested in how plant genomes have changed as a result of agricultural breeding.  Paul enjoys keeping up with current events and using his free time to partake in any outdoor activity.

Pui Yan Ho -- Pui Yan is pursuing her Bachelor’s degree in Biotechnology from UC Davis. She is currently participating in the centromere evolution project, cloning and sequencing kinetochore proteins in Zea. In her spare time, she likes to cook, karaoke, and fold origami.

Matthew Hufford -- Matt joined the lab in 2010 after finishing his dissertation with Paul Gepts on the ecological genetics of wild maize populations in Mexico. He is currently studying the population genomics of maize domestication and improvement, centromere evolution in the genus Zea, and reciprocal gene flow between maize and the wild taxon Zea mays ssp. mexicana. When not in front of his computer, Matt can be found running on the American River Trail or playing with his adorable sons.

Sofiane Mezmouk -- Sofiane joined the lab in early 2012 after doing a PhD at INRA and Biogemma, where he worked on maize association mapping. He is currently sorting through piles of SNPs and phenotypes to help us better understand the genetic basis of hybrid vigor.

Tanja Pyhäjärvi -- Tanja finished her PhD in 2008 at the University of Oulu, Finland on the population genetics and demographic history of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris). Coming from arctic conditions, she is interested in the genetic basis of adaptation, climate change, and the effects of past demographic events on plant genomes. Currently she is studying the genomics of local adaptation in teosinte (Zea mays ssp. parviglumis and ssp. mexicana), supported by the Academy of Finland. Her free time is mostly absorbed by a toddler and jogging.

Claudia Ross-Ibarra -- Claudia joined the lab as a volunteer in late 2011, and now works half-time as lab manager.

Laura Vann -- Laura comes from Smith College, where she started her current work on Joshua Tree population genetics. She is a PhD student in the Genetics Graduate Group, and in addition to working on Joshua Trees is also studying the ecological genetics of the tb1 locus in teosinte.

Dianne Velasco -- Beginning her Ph.D. work in the Genetics Graduate Group in Fall 2010, Dianne's research interests include developing genetic tools for marker-assisted selection and investigating domestication and evolution in tree crops. Dianne has been working with the USDA-ARS National Clonal Germplasm Repository evaluating the Persian walnut collection for economic traits of interest and genetic diversity. Dianne has also created interspecific walnut hybrids to incorporate genetic resistance to soil borne diseases and pests from wild species for rootstock development.