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Gulf Coast Research and Education Center

Gulf Coast Research and Education Center

Gulf Coast Research and Education Center's Faculty

UF/IFAS researchers are award-winning, internationally recognized experts who publish papers in leading peer-reviewed journals and are inducted into prestigious organizations such as the National Academy of Sciences and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

The University of Florida is a land-grant university and an Association of American Universities member. Our faculty are committed to the UF/IFAS research mission while also assuming Extension and teaching responsibilities. Findings from their research are used as the basis for Extension programs taught statewide via publications, distance education, and field day events, and are the foundation for many of the classes taught by our faculty.

GCREC Directory

Jack Rechcigl

Dr. Jack Rechcigl

Center Director and Professor of Soil and Water Science
Gulf Coast Research and Education Center
rechcigl@ufl.edu
813-419-6571

Shinsuke Agehara

Dr. Shinsuke Agehara
Associate Professor of Horticulture

Gulf Coast REC - Balm
sagehara@ufl.edu
813-419-6583

Dr. Zhanao Deng

Dr. Zhanao Deng

Professor of Environmental Horticulture
Rm. 166 - Gulf Coast Research and Education Center
813-419-6605

Dr. Fahiem EL-Borai

Dr. Fahiem El Borai

Research Assistant Scientist, International Outreach
Strawberry Breeding

Rm. 173 - Gulf Coast Research and Education Center
813-419-6612

Dr. Andrew Koeser

Dr. Andrew Koeser

Associate Professor of Environmental Horticulture
Rm. 133 - Gulf Coast Research and Education Center
813-419-6589

 Dr. Seonghee Lee

Dr. Seonghee Lee

Assistant Professor of Horticulture
Rm. 172 - Gulf Coast Research and Education Center
813-419-6611

Dr. Marcus Marin

Dr. Marcus Marin

Research Assistant Scientist
Gulf Coast Research and Education Center
813-419-6671

Dr. Hugh Smith

Dr. Hugh Smith

Associate Professor of Entomology and Nematology
Rm. 131 - Gulf Coast Research and Education Center
813-419-6588

Nathan Boyd

Dr. Nathan Boyd

Associate Center Director and Professor of Horticulture
Rm. 109 Gulf Coast Research and Education Center
813-419-6613

Dr. Debra Barry

Dr. Debra Barry

Assistant Professor
GCREC - Plant City Campus
813-757-2288

Dr. Johan Desaeger

Dr. Johan Desaeger

Associate Professor of Entomology and Nematology
Rm. 135 - Gulf Coast Research and Education Center
813-419-6592

Dr. Zhengfei Guan

Dr. Zhengfei Guan

Associate Professor of Ag Economics
Rm. 133 - Gulf Coast Research and Education Center
813-419-6590

 Dr. Sriyanka Lahiri

Dr. Sriyanka Lahiri

Assistant Professor of Entomology
Rm. 128 - Gulf Coast Research and Education Center
813-419-6585

Dr. Natalia Peres

Dr. Natalia Peres

Professor of Plant Pathology
Rm. 157 - Gulf Coast Research and Education Center
813-419-6601

Dr. Gary Vallad

Dr. Gary Vallad

Professor of Plant Pathology
Rm. 126 - Gulf Coast Research and Education Center
813-419-6577

Dr. Vance Whitaker

Dr. Vance Whitaker

Professor of Horticulture
Rm. 169 - Gulf Coast Research and Education Center
813-419-6608

Amr Abd-Elrahman

Dr. Amr Abd-Elrahman

Professor of Geomatics
GCREC - Plant City Campus
813-757-2283

Dr. Daeun (Dana) Choi

Dr. Daeun (Dana) Choi

Assistant Professor of Ag Engineering
Gulf Coast Research and Education Center
813-419-6591

 Dr. John Diaz

Dr. John Diaz

Associate Professor of Ag Education and Communication
GCREC - Plant City Campus
813-757-2297

Dr. Samuel Hutton

Dr. Samuel Hutton

Associate Professor of Horticulture
Rm. 171 - Gulf Coast Research and Education Center
813-419-6610

Dr. Kati Lawson

Dr. Kati Lawson

Lecturer
GCREC - Plant City Campus
813-757-2284

 Dr. Mary Lusk

Dr. Mary Lusk

Assistant Professor of Soil and Water Science
Rm. 129 - Gulf Coast Research and Education Center
813-419-6586

Doug Phillips

Doug Phillips

UF/IFAS Blueberry Extension Coordinator
Rm. #148 - Gulf Coast Research and Education Center
813-419-6597

Dr. Xu (Kevin) Wang

Dr. Xu (Kevin) Wang

Assistant Professor of Ag Engineering
Gulf Coast Research and Education Center
813-419-6618

PostDoc Research Associates

NameTitleEmail
Acosta Rangel, Aleyda Horticultural Science aacostarangel@ufl.edu
Barreto da Silva, Felipe Entomology barretodasilva.f@ufl.edu
Buzanini, Ana Claudia Horticultural Science ana.buzanini@ufl.edu
Cardoso de Souza, Joao Horticultural Science j.cardosodesouza@ufl.edu
Fan, Zhen Horticultural Science fanzhen@ufl.edu
Dalid, Cheryl Horticultural Science cdalid@ufl.edu
Gireesh, Midhula Entomology mgireesh@ufl.edu
Hammami, Abdel Malek Ag Economics ahammami@ufl.edu
Han, Hyeondae Horticultural Science hyeondae@ufl.edu
Herrig, Renato Horticultural Science re.herrigfurlane@ufl.edu
Huang, Kuan-Ming Ag Economics khuang2@ufl.edu
Jang, YoonJeong Horticultural Science yoonjeong.jang@ufl.edu
     
     

Graduate Students

NameProfile LinkDepartmentFaculty AdvisorEmail
Adhikary, Lovely   Entomology Lahiri l.adhikary@ufl.edu
Alam, Elissar   Horticulture S. Lee  elissaralam@ufl.edu
Alonzo Ortiz, Galvin

https://www.linkedin.com/in/galvin-alonzo-ortiz-3b9316190

Plant Pathology Peres  galvin.alonzoort@ufl.edu
Barr, Dylan   Soil and Water Lusk dylan.barr@ufl.edu
Bhandari, Prashant

https://bhandariprashant.github.io/

Horticulture T.G. Lee prashantbhandari@ufl.edu
Busuulwa, Allan   Entomology Lahiri abusuulwa@ufl.edu
Cordova, Gasselle   Environmental Horticulture Deng ga.cordova@ufle.du
Dimase, Marcelo   Entomology Smith marcelodimase@ufl.edu
Elessawy, Rana   Plant Pathology Peres  
Gaspar, Leonard   Horticulture Hutton lgaspar@ufl.edu
Giles, Garrett   Plant Pathology Vallad  
Furuya, Amanda   Entomology Smith amandafuruya@ufl.edu
Ilodibe, Uchoe   Ag Engineering Choi u.ilodibe@ufl.edu
Ipinyomi, Samuel

https://programs.ifas.ufl.edu/plant-breeding/students/

Horticulture Hutton ipinyomi.samuel@ufl.edu
Ivey, Cleveland

https://www.linkedin.com/in/cleveland-ivey-b6ba00136/

Entomology Smith civey@ufl.edu
Kaur, Gagandeep   Entomology Lahiri gagandeep.xz@ufl.edu
Kim, Jin Hee   Horticulture S. Lee jine323@ufl.edu
Lone, Junaid

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6417-1392

Horticullture Agehara j.lone@ufl.edu
Mayorga, Laura   Nematology Desaeger lmayorgasantafe@ufl.edu
Mirbod, Omeed   Ag Engineering Choi mirbodo@ufl.edu
Monteiro, Mariana   Entomology Smith  
Moreira, David   Nematology Desaeger daanmoca94@ufl.edu
Muni-Morgan, Amanda

linkedin.com/in/amanda-muni-morgan-538a1b68

Soil and Water Lusk a.munimorgan@ufl.edu
Odogwu, Justina   Soil and Water Lusk justina.odogwu@ufl.edu
Panwala, Roshni   Plant Pathology Vallad  
Parrish, Brooks   Environmental Horticulture Deng brooks.parrish@ufl.edu
Porter, Mark   Horticulture S. Lee markporter@ufl.edu
Pride, Lillian   Horticulture Agehara lpride3@ufl.edu
Rameriz, Renzo   Plant Pathology Vallad rramirezantazu@ufl.edu
Riva, Gabrieli

https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabrieli-riva

Nematology Desaeager gabrieliriva@ufl.edu
Rodriguez, Alex   Horticulture Boyd alex.rodriguezca@ufl.edu
Schaller, Alexander

https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexanderschaller/

Environmental Horticulture Deng aschaller@ufl.edu
Sierra, Edgar 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/edgarsierrao

Horticulture Hutton e.sierra@ufl.edu
Suazo, Andrea   Plant Pathology Vallad asuazotejada@ufl.edu
Williams, Moriah   Horticulture Boyd williamsmoriah@ufl.edu
Willis, Elise   Urban Landscaping Koeser evanwie@ufl.edu
Yang, Jingya   Plant Pathology Vallad yang.j@ufl.edu
Zuniga, Adrian   Plant Pathology Peres adrianizuniga@ufl.edu

GCREC Staff

Administration - GCREC Balm and GCREC Plant City

 

Johanny Zabala - Manager, Administrative Services
(Room 108, jzabala@ufl.edu, 813-419-6576): Administrative management of fiscal and other office staff; Management of all funds for Balm and Plant City (Federal, State, all Other); grant amendments; grant no cost extensions; Review expenditures for budgetary control; Control receipt and disbursement of funds to and from the unit; Distribution calculations; FAR/ER; process annual perquisites request; prepare GCREC AD419 Federal report; DSA; Approve Travel, PO, and Voucher; Employee Relations.


 

Nicole Brown - Fiscal Assistant II
(Room 107, nicole.brown@ufl.edu, 813-419-6652): process non-travel expense reports and pCard’s; PCard Approver (non-travel); back-up for front desk and general office duties; post transactions in Shadow System, collect and track housing rent.

 

Richard Chamblin - Research Administrator II
(Room 134, rchamblin@ufl.edu, 813-419-6619): proactively identify potential sources of support, assist researchers with proposal submission process, process personnel distributions, assist manager with semester effort reporting and faculty assignment reports; assist accountant with journal entries; assist fiscal staff with pcard processing as needed.


 

Christine Cooley - Admin Assistant III
(Reception, ccooley@ufl.edu, 813-419-6578): Assistant to Center Director and Operations Manager, Media Coordinator,  Directory Coordinator, Student Housing Coordinator and Liaison,  Event Coordinator, front desk and general office duties; key inventory; back-up travel processor.

 

Michelle Middleton-Philpot - Admin Assistant I
(Plant City, mmiddleton@ufl.edu, 813-757-2287): processes travel-related transactions for Balm and Plant City; assist Plant City personnel with daily clerical needs; assists with undergraduate recruitment program and other programs at Plant City; post transactions and update biweekly payroll in Shadow System.


 

Belinda Missen - HR Generalist
(Room 104, bmissen@ufl.edu, 813-419-6573): coordinates all HR processes and job actions, including OPS and TEAMS recruitment and hires,   international hires, advertising, LOA, waivers, J1 and H1B Visas, worker’s comp claims, identity coordinator, enter initial/hire distributions, back-up DSA, and unit DSO,

 

Joel Parlin - IT Professional II
(Room 121, jwparlin@ufl.edu, 813-419-6580): systems administration, computer support, IP telephony, Microsoft Active Directory management, computer account creation; provide a secure computing environment and continuous availability for network system, servers, software applications, video conferencing, and local and remote access by GCREC employees to perform their official job responsibilities; assist teaching faculty with support for classes.

 

Marianne Smith – Accounting Specialist
(Room 106, mariannesmith@ufl.edu, 813-419-6574): processes non-travel pCard; processes purchase order transactions; processes pCard vouchers; pCard Approver; helps personnel with obtaining UF purchasing credit card, post transactions to shadow system; annual capital and attractive property inventory.

 

Jason Steward -Academic Recruiter Plant City
jsteward@ufl.edu | 813-757-2280

 

Todd Test - Maintenance Generalist II
parttime@ufl.edu - 813-419-6640

 

Trish Todd - Fiscal Assistant
(Room 106/Reception, ttodd@ufl.edu): review for accuracy and prepare all expense paperwork for upload to pcard and myUFmarket modules; follow up with pcard holders when documentation need attention or additional information is needed; other duties as assigned.

 

Margaret (Hua) Zou – Accountant I
(Room 105, huazou@ufl.edu, 813-419-6575): Fund reconcile (grants, appropriations and cash-based); prepare reconciliation reports for review/approval by Operations Manager and Director; annual space inventory; journal entries, pcard approver for Plant City, update transactions in shadow system.

Farm Operations Name Title Phone Email
  Autery, Eric Agricultural Assistant II   eric.auery@ufl.edu
  Brown, R. Matthew Agricultural Assistant III   rmattbrown@ufl.edu
  Cofer, Jeb Farm Manager 941-737-4791 jcofer@ufl.edu
  Bennie Decker Agricultural Assistant I    
  Moreno, Jose Farm Manager 813-789-9825 jjmoreno@ufl.edu
  Noyola, Misael Agricultural Assistant I    
  Rauh, Fred Agricultural Assistant I    
  Rauh, Tim Agricultural Assistant II    
  Rubino Alvarez, Jose Agricultural Assistant II   jrubino@ufl.edu
Research Staff Name Title Phone Email
  Arredondo, Angel Ag Assistant II/Strawberry Breeding 813-419-6615 aarrend@ufl.edu
  Bui, Hung Xuan Biological Scientist III/Nematology 813-419-6634 hungbui@ufl.edu
  Carter, Justin Biological Scientist II/Nematology 813-419-6582  
  Carter, Lorna Lab Tech I/Plant Pathology 813-419-6601 ltcarter@ufl.edu
  Cassaway, Marissa Biological Scientist II/Plant Pathology    
  Chambers, Laurel Biological Scientist II/Entomology 813-419-6587 laurelkchambers@ufl.edu
  Cummings, Dolly Biological Scientist II/Tomato Breeding 813-419-6609 dollyc@ufl.edu
  Dalid, Cheryl Biological Scientist II/Strawberry Breeding 813-419-6615 cdalid@ufl.edu
  Davis, Tim Biological Scientist II/Tomato Breeding 813-419-6609 timmyd@ufl.edu
  Delcastillo, Christopher Agricultural Assistant II/Horticulture Sciences 813-419-6594 chdelcas@ufl.edu
  Garcia, Geovanny Agrcultural Assistant II/Environmental Hort 813-419-6603  
  Giulani, Juan Biological Scientist II/Environmental Hort 813-419-6603  
  Hernandez, Lucina Agricultural Assistant I/Environmental Hort    
  Hughes, Scott Agricultural Assistant III/Plant Pathology 813-419-6600 bshughes@ufl.edu
  Lopez, Judith Agricultural Assisant II/Tomato Breeding 813-419-6645  
  Martin, Robert Ag Assistant III/Plant Pathology 813-419-6601 martinrw@ufl.edu
  Moyer, Catalina Biologicial Scientist II/Strawberry Breeding 813-419-6615 torresc@ufl.edu
  Osorio, Luis Biological Scientist IV/Strawberry Breeding 813-419-6614 lfosorio@ufl.edu
  Seijo, Teresa Biological Scientist III/Plant Pathology 813-419-6601 tseijo@ufl.edu
  Suguinoshita, Carol Biological Scientist II/Plant Pathology    
  Sweat, Michael Agricultural Assistant III/Weed Science 813-419-6604 michaelsweat@ufl.edu
  Ueda, Kazuyo Biological Scientist II/Tomato Breeding 813-419-6609 kaueda@ufl.edu
  Verma, Sujeet Biological Scientist II/Strawberry Breeding 813-419-6614 sujeet.verma@ufl.edu
  Wang, Weining (Bill) Biological Scientist II/Horticultural Sciences 813-419-6594 billwang@ufl.edu
  Witt, Emily Agricultural Assistant II    
  Xie, Chenzhao Biological Scientist II/Nematology 813-419-6582 chenzhaoxie@ufl.edu
  Yoo, Cheol-Min Research Coordinator II/Strawberry Breeding 813-419--6616 cyoo@ufl.edu

 

Emeritus Faculty