People

Alex obtained his B.Sc. in Biotechnology at Universitat Politècnica de València. He then received his Ph.D. in Plant Sciences at the University of Cambridge, working in Prof. David Baulcombe’s lab. There he worked the regulation plant disease resistance genes by small RNAs. Before joining Yale, he was a Postdoctoral Scholar at the University of California, Davis, in the laboratory of Prof. Siobhan Brady. While at UC Davis, he studied cell type specific regulatory networks in plant development, investigating root cell type differentiation.

email: alex.cantopastor@yale.edu

Valeria completed her B.Sc. in Biological Sciences at the University of Salerno, where she developed a strong interest in carnivorous plants and the unique microbiomes within their traps. She then received a Ph.D. in Plant Biotechnology at the University of Naples Federico II under the supervision of Prof. Rosa Rao. Her research focused on tomato-derived peptides and their roles in plant defense and crop protection. During her Ph.D., she joined Prof. Gabriele Berg’s lab at Graz University of Technology in Austria, to investigate the influence of peptides on the plant-associated microbiome.

Jie obtained her Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from MIT, working with Prof. Dave Des Marais on understanding plant stress responses. While at MIT, she focused on understanding how different plant genotypes or species respond to environmental stresses, with an emphasis on gene regulation networks. Before that, she pursued a M.S. in Civil and Environmental Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University, where she first worked on plants, focusing on phytoremediation and nanoparticle application in plants as agrochemicals. She also has a B.Eng. in Water Supply and Sewerage Engineering from Shenyang Jianzhu University.

Bea is a rotation student in the Cantó-Pastor lab. She graduated from UC Berkeley with a B.S. in Genetics & Plant Biology and Environmental Science. While at Berkeley, she was an undergraduate research assistant in the Macrosystems Ecology Laboratory led by Dr. Benjamin Blonder.

email: bea.cundiff@yale.edu

James received his B.S. in Molecular and Cell Biology at the University of Connecticut. While obtaining his undergraduate degree, he worked in John Carlon’s lab at Yale University as a Research Assistant. James assisted in elucidating the mosquito taste receptor system in Aedes albopictus (i.e. the Asian tiger mosquito), a highly invasive vector of human disease pathogens. Before beginning his journey as a scientist, James had a successful career as a CPA. He earned his B.S.B. in Accounting and Finance at Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business, with a minor in Psychology. 

email: james.nidetz@yale.edu