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Virginia Tech Translational Plant Sciences Center @VT_TPSC

TPSC at VT is a collaborative community of researchers committed to advancing the sustainable production of food, feed, & biomaterials 🌾🌻 🔬

Joined July 2016
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  • Followers 486
340 Photos and videos
TPSC affiliate Dr. Sherif was interviewed by The Winchester Star and @nbcwashington about a spring freeze that severely damaged apple and peach crops in the area: nbcwashington.com/news/local…
Apple blossoms after the spring freeze.

ALT Apple blossoms after the spring freeze.

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Undergraduate students Audrey Vu, Johnny McGinn, and Alex Cohen from Dr. Dennis Cladis's lab presented posters on their research with beets and blackberry jam at the 2026 Food Science and Technology (FST) Research Symposium!
Undergraduate student Johnny McGinn with his research poster, titled "Influence of Soil Microarthropods and Pathogenic Stress on Phenolic Compounds in Beets."

ALT Undergraduate student Johnny McGinn with his research poster, titled "Influence of Soil Microarthropods and Pathogenic Stress on Phenolic Compounds in Beets."

Undergraudate student Alex Cohen with her research poster, titled "Optimizing Methods for the Extraction of Phenolic Compounds in Blackberry Jam."

ALT Undergraudate student Alex Cohen with her research poster, titled "Optimizing Methods for the Extraction of Phenolic Compounds in Blackberry Jam."

Undergraduate student Audrey Vu with her research poster, titled "Utilization and Phenolic Characterization of Sucralose as a Blackberry Jam Sugar Alternative Recipe."

ALT Undergraduate student Audrey Vu with her research poster, titled "Utilization and Phenolic Characterization of Sucralose as a Blackberry Jam Sugar Alternative Recipe."

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The Virginia Tech Board of Visitors approved promotions, tenure, and continued appointments at its June 2nd meeting. Congratulations to TPSC affiliates Dr. Bas Bargmann, Dr. Courtney Leisner, and Dr. Yun Yin on their promotions to associate professor with tenure!
Congratulations TPSC Affiliates! Promotion to associate professor with tenure: Dr. Bastiaan Bargmann, School of Plant and Environmental Sciences. Dr. Courtney Leisner, School of Plant and Environmental Sciences. Dr. Yun Yin, food science and technology. Virginia Tech logo. Fralin Life Sciences Institute. Translational Plant Sciences Center. Virginia Tech.

ALT Congratulations TPSC Affiliates! Promotion to associate professor with tenure: Dr. Bastiaan Bargmann, School of Plant and Environmental Sciences. Dr. Courtney Leisner, School of Plant and Environmental Sciences. Dr. Yun Yin, food science and technology. Virginia Tech logo. Fralin Life Sciences Institute. Translational Plant Sciences Center. Virginia Tech.

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The Carneiro Lab earned top placements at the 2026 @VTCals Research Summit! Congratulations to Madhvi Singh (1st place, graduate student poster), Elissa Hall (3rd place, graduate student poster), and Mary Claire Mea (1st place, undergraduate student poster)!
M.S. graduate Elissa Hall (left) and Dr. Renata Carneiro (right) with Elissa's research poster, titled “Wild‑Amazonian Chocolates Aren’t Just Different - They Expand The Sensory Boundaries of What Chocolate Can Be."

ALT M.S. graduate Elissa Hall (left) and Dr. Renata Carneiro (right) with Elissa's research poster, titled “Wild‑Amazonian Chocolates Aren’t Just Different - They Expand The Sensory Boundaries of What Chocolate Can Be."

Dr. Renata Carneiro (left) and undergraduate student Mary Claire Mea (right) with Mary's research poster, titled “Assessing succulent seeds from common beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) as new green legumes for the U.S. market."

ALT Dr. Renata Carneiro (left) and undergraduate student Mary Claire Mea (right) with Mary's research poster, titled “Assessing succulent seeds from common beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) as new green legumes for the U.S. market."

Ph.D. candidate Madhvi Singh (left) and Dr. Renata Carneiro (right) with Madhvi's research poster, titled “From Genotype to Grocery: Consumer Acceptance of Faba Bean Hummus for U.S. Market Expansion."

ALT Ph.D. candidate Madhvi Singh (left) and Dr. Renata Carneiro (right) with Madhvi's research poster, titled “From Genotype to Grocery: Consumer Acceptance of Faba Bean Hummus for U.S. Market Expansion."
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TPSC faculty affiliate Dr. Jelesko was interviewed by the @nytimes for its quiz, "Wait, Is That Poison Ivy?" Test your ability to spot poison ivy and oak before they leave you with a rash: nytimes.com/interactive/2026…
Poison Ivy.

ALT Poison Ivy.

Dr. John Jelesko working with poison ivy outdoors.

ALT Dr. John Jelesko working with poison ivy outdoors.
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Congratulations to the seven TPSC graduate students from the Carneiro, Cladis, Fearer, Gan, and Jelesko Labs for their successful M.S. thesis defenses!
Shane Allan. Grace Bartlett. Lily Lefave. Logo: Virginia Tech. Fralin Life Sciences Institute. Translational Plant Sciences Center.

ALT Shane Allan. Grace Bartlett. Lily Lefave. Logo: Virginia Tech. Fralin Life Sciences Institute. Translational Plant Sciences Center.

Elissa Hall. Julia Adornetto. Molly Caron. Muheng Li. Logo: Virginia Tech. Fralin Life Sciences Institute. Translational Plant Sciences Center.

ALT Elissa Hall. Julia Adornetto. Molly Caron. Muheng Li. Logo: Virginia Tech. Fralin Life Sciences Institute. Translational Plant Sciences Center.

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Congratulations to Dr. Mohammad Monirul Hasan Tipu (Sherif Lab) and Dr. Reza Mazloom (Vinatzer Lab) for their successful Ph.D. defenses!
Dr. Reza Mazloom (left), co-advisor Dr. Lenwood S. Heath (center), and Dr. Boris Vinatzer (right) at the Virginia Tech graduation ceremony.

ALT Dr. Reza Mazloom (left), co-advisor Dr. Lenwood S. Heath (center), and Dr. Boris Vinatzer (right) at the Virginia Tech graduation ceremony.

Dr. Mohammad Monirul Hasan Tipu (left) and Dr. Sherif Sherif (right) at the Virginia Tech graduation ceremony.

ALT Dr. Mohammad Monirul Hasan Tipu (left) and Dr. Sherif Sherif (right) at the Virginia Tech graduation ceremony.

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Graduate student Yaojie Zheng from the Zhang Lab gave a @vtspes seminar titled "Using High-Throughput Aerial Phenotyping and Machine Learning to Improve Soybean Trait Prediction," detailing field experiments involving 317 soybean lines and multimodal drone data.
Yaojie Zheng at the Virginia Tech School of Plant and Environmental Sciences seminar.

ALT Yaojie Zheng at the Virginia Tech School of Plant and Environmental Sciences seminar.

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Niki McMaster, a research associate in the @SchmaleLab, was named @USWBSI's April Featured Researcher! Since joining the lab 15 years ago, Niki has supported important fusarium head blight research while mentoring both undergraduate and graduate students.
Niki McMaster.

ALT Niki McMaster.
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Graduate student Leah Ellis from the Cladis Lab recently presented her research at the National Nutrient Database Conference. Her work seeks to better understand how the prevalence of ultra-processed foods in the diet affects phenolic exposure within a full diet pattern.
A group photo of attendees at the National Nutrient Database Conference.

ALT A group photo of attendees at the National Nutrient Database Conference.

Graduate student Leah Ellis giving a presentation at the National Nutrient Database Conference.

ALT Graduate student Leah Ellis giving a presentation at the National Nutrient Database Conference.

Graduate student Leah Ellis giving a presentation at the National Nutrient Database Conference. The slide reads: "Phenolic Analysis and Comparison of Nutrient-Matched Diets containing 81% and 0% Energy from Ultra-Processed Foods."

ALT Graduate student Leah Ellis giving a presentation at the National Nutrient Database Conference. The slide reads: "Phenolic Analysis and Comparison of Nutrient-Matched Diets containing 81% and 0% Energy from Ultra-Processed Foods."

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TPSC affiliate Dr. Guillaume Pilot recently visited the Roanoke Valley Governor's School, where students explored plant metabolism by measuring Arabidopsis plants grown in liquid culture subjected to a concentration of toxic amino acids over 4 weeks.
The Roanoke Valley Governor's School student experiments measuring Arabidopsis plants grown in liquid culture subjected to a concentration of toxic amino acids.

ALT The Roanoke Valley Governor's School student experiments measuring Arabidopsis plants grown in liquid culture subjected to a concentration of toxic amino acids.
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At the last TPSC KĹŤrero: Discussion Group, the newest TPSC affiliates Dr. Huijie Gan and Dr. Shabnam Hematian shared presentations about their research.
Dr. Shabnam Hematian giving a presentation at the March TPSC KĹŤrero: Discussion Group.

ALT Dr. Shabnam Hematian giving a presentation at the March TPSC KĹŤrero: Discussion Group.

Dr. Dr. Huijie Gan giving a presentation at the March TPSC KĹŤrero: Discussion Group.

ALT Dr. Dr. Huijie Gan giving a presentation at the March TPSC KĹŤrero: Discussion Group.
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On day two of the 2026 Career Exploration Initiative, 12 graduate students and postdocs shared flash talks at @BASFCorporation, toured Elysia Bio, and visited @NC_PSI, where they had the opportunity to attend a career panel and connect with professionals across different roles.
The Career Exploration Initiative Exploration attendees, N.C. State graduate students, and the career panelists: Dr. Kathleen Denya from North Carolina State University, Dr. Eli Hornstein from Elysia Bio, and Dr. Michael Barnhart from Novonesis.

ALT The Career Exploration Initiative Exploration attendees, N.C. State graduate students, and the career panelists: Dr. Kathleen Denya from North Carolina State University, Dr. Eli Hornstein from Elysia Bio, and Dr. Michael Barnhart from Novonesis.

Graduate student Grace Bartlett giving a flash talk at BASF.

ALT Graduate student Grace Bartlett giving a flash talk at BASF.

The Career Exploration Initiative attendees at the career panel with panelists Dr. Kathleen Denya from North Carolina State University, Dr. Eli Hornstein from Elysia Bio, and Dr. Michael Barnhart from Novonesis.

ALT The Career Exploration Initiative attendees at the career panel with panelists Dr. Kathleen Denya from North Carolina State University, Dr. Eli Hornstein from Elysia Bio, and Dr. Michael Barnhart from Novonesis.

The Career Exploration Initiative attendees touring the Seeds2Grow incubator space at the N.C. Plant Sciences Initiative.

ALT The Career Exploration Initiative attendees touring the Seeds2Grow incubator space at the N.C. Plant Sciences Initiative.
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On day one of TPSC's 2026 Career Exploration Initiative, 10 graduate students and 2 postdocs learned about housing early-stage science companies at First Flight Venture Center and Alexandria LaunchLabs and toured the research facilities at Meiogenix and @Syngenta.
The 2026 Career Exploration Initiative attendees and Dr. Rachel Egger in front of a Syngenta sign.

ALT The 2026 Career Exploration Initiative attendees and Dr. Rachel Egger in front of a Syngenta sign.

The 2026 Career Exploration Initiative attendees with Program Director Dr. Balaji Vasudevan (right) and Program Manager Ashley Davis (left) in front of a First Flight Venture Center sign.

ALT The 2026 Career Exploration Initiative attendees with Program Director Dr. Balaji Vasudevan (right) and Program Manager Ashley Davis (left) in front of a First Flight Venture Center sign.

Dr. Janet Lorv giving a presentation at Syngenta with the Career Exploration Initiative attendees and Dr. Rachel Egger.

ALT Dr. Janet Lorv giving a presentation at Syngenta with the Career Exploration Initiative attendees and Dr. Rachel Egger.

Graduate student Sheetal Kumari giving a presentation at Syngenta with the Career Exploration Initiative attendees and Dr. Rachel Egger.

ALT Graduate student Sheetal Kumari giving a presentation at Syngenta with the Career Exploration Initiative attendees and Dr. Rachel Egger.

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The Scharf Lab's Bacteriophage Club (and their mascot!) participated in March's Kids' Tech University, where they taught the next generation of scientists about viruses that infect bacteria.
The Scharf Lab's Bacteriophage Club at Kids' Tech University. Left: Sharat Paka. Back: Eli Konvalinka. Front: Idella Collett. Right: Jackson Wood. Jackson is next to the bacteriophage mascot, created by undergraduate student Taylor Kramp.

ALT The Scharf Lab's Bacteriophage Club at Kids' Tech University. Left: Sharat Paka. Back: Eli Konvalinka. Front: Idella Collett. Right: Jackson Wood. Jackson is next to the bacteriophage mascot, created by undergraduate student Taylor Kramp.
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Graduate student Anyelina Mangru from the Badgley Lab gave a @vtspes seminar titled "Microbial community response to varying plant litter inputs," detailing how the quality of plant material shapes microbial communities and influences how carbon is processed and stored in soil.
Anyelina Mangru at the Virginia Tech School of Plant and Environmental Sciences seminar.

ALT Anyelina Mangru at the Virginia Tech School of Plant and Environmental Sciences seminar.

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The inaugural John McDowell Memorial Lecture celebrated Dr. McDowell’s legacy as a leader in molecular plant-microbe interactions and as a dedicated friend, mentor, and colleague to many at Virginia Tech and around the world. Thank you to all who joined us to honor his impact.
Cathy McDowell speaking at the inaugural John McDowell Memorial Lecture.

ALT Cathy McDowell speaking at the inaugural John McDowell Memorial Lecture.

Dr. Boris Vinatzer speaking at the inaugural John McDowell Memorial Lecture.

ALT Dr. Boris Vinatzer speaking at the inaugural John McDowell Memorial Lecture.

Invited speaker Dr. Eric Holub (University of Warwick, UK) speaking to an audience in the Steger Hall auditorium at the inaugural John McDowell Memorial Lecture.

ALT Invited speaker Dr. Eric Holub (University of Warwick, UK) speaking to an audience in the Steger Hall auditorium at the inaugural John McDowell Memorial Lecture.

Dr. Eric Holub speaking at the inaugural John McDowell Memorial Lecture.

ALT Dr. Eric Holub speaking at the inaugural John McDowell Memorial Lecture.
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In March, TPSC’s Graduate Student Organization welcomed @Bayer representative Dr. Noam Eckshtain-Levi to campus. He gave two workshop talks for students and faculty, held a Bayer B4U Mentee meeting and feedback session, and led a Q&A on careers in industry and academia.
Dr. Noam Eckshtain-Levi and TPSC graduate students at the Bayer B4U Mentee meeting.

ALT Dr. Noam Eckshtain-Levi and TPSC graduate students at the Bayer B4U Mentee meeting.

Dr. Noam Eckshtain-Levi and the TPSC Graduate Student Organization. From left to right: Sehgeet Kaur, Daisy Cortes, Matheus Granja, Dr. Noam Eckshtain-Levi, Kathryn Liu, and Peter Forstner.

ALT Dr. Noam Eckshtain-Levi and the TPSC Graduate Student Organization. From left to right: Sehgeet Kaur, Daisy Cortes, Matheus Granja, Dr. Noam Eckshtain-Levi, Kathryn Liu, and Peter Forstner.

Dr. Noam Eckshtain-Levi and TPSC graduate students in a group photo at his student workshop talk, "Be Yourself."

ALT Dr. Noam Eckshtain-Levi and TPSC graduate students in a group photo at his student workshop talk, "Be Yourself."

Dr. Noam Eckshtain-Levi giving a workshop talk to TPSC graduate students.

ALT Dr. Noam Eckshtain-Levi giving a workshop talk to TPSC graduate students.

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At the 2026 Soybean Breeders Workshop in St. Louis, MO, graduate students from the Zhang Lab (Virginia Claire Lehmann, Yaojie Zheng, and Matheus Granja) presented their research. The workshop featured over 20 talks focused on plant physiology and its advancements in breeding.
Matheus Granja and his research poster, "Genetic Architecture and Environmental Stability of Lectin Content in Soybean Seeds".

ALT Matheus Granja and his research poster, "Genetic Architecture and Environmental Stability of Lectin Content in Soybean Seeds".

The Zhang Lab with a Soybean Breeders Workshop poster. From left to right: Yaojie Zheng, Gordon Burton, Luciana Rosso, Virginia Claire Lehmann, Matheus Granja, and Muliang Peng.

ALT The Zhang Lab with a Soybean Breeders Workshop poster. From left to right: Yaojie Zheng, Gordon Burton, Luciana Rosso, Virginia Claire Lehmann, Matheus Granja, and Muliang Peng.

Virginia Claire Lehmann and her research poster, "Soybean Yield Prediction Using Historical Southern Multi-State USDA Uniform Trial Data".

ALT Virginia Claire Lehmann and her research poster, "Soybean Yield Prediction Using Historical Southern Multi-State USDA Uniform Trial Data".

Yaojie Zheng and his research poster, "Scalable Prediction of Yield and Canopy Traits to Enhance Soybean Breeding using High-Throughput Aerial Phenotyping".

ALT Yaojie Zheng and his research poster, "Scalable Prediction of Yield and Canopy Traits to Enhance Soybean Breeding using High-Throughput Aerial Phenotyping".
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Ph.D. candidate Mohammad Monirul Hasan Tipu from the Sherif Lab received a travel award to speak at the 2026 @UF Plant Science Symposium! Mohammad presented his research on decoupling fruit abscission from ripening to manage pre-harvest fruit drop.
Ph.D. candidate Mohammad Monirul Hasan Tipu speaking at the University of Florida Plant Science Symposium.

ALT Ph.D. candidate Mohammad Monirul Hasan Tipu speaking at the University of Florida Plant Science Symposium.

Ph.D. candidate Mohammad Monirul Hasan Tipu (right) holding a student speaker award at the University of Florida Plant Science Symposium.

ALT Ph.D. candidate Mohammad Monirul Hasan Tipu (right) holding a student speaker award at the University of Florida Plant Science Symposium.
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