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.

email: valeria.castaldi@yale.edu

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, 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.

email: jie.yun@yale.edu

Monika obtained her PhD from Charles University in Prague, where she also completed her master’s degree, both under the supervision of Dr. Matyáš Fendrych. Her research focused on how the phytohormone auxin regulates root cell elongation in Arabidopsis thaliana, with particular emphasis on the molecular mechanisms that translate hormonal signals into growth responses. Her research centered on identifying novel genes involved in root development, emphasizing the integration of hormone signaling and cell wall remodeling pathways, especially pectin modifications, in mediating root growth responses.

email: monika.kubalova@yale.edu

Yuxin Wang is a PhD student in the Yale BBS Plant Molecular Biology track. His previous research interests center on epigenetic regulations of plant abiotic stress responses. He has prior training in molecular biology and multi-omics analysis, and is excited to explore how plants adapt and respond to nutrient limitations and microbe signals at the molecular and genetic levels.

email: yuxin.wang.yw2226@yale.edu

Wonjae is a first-year PhD student in the PMB track at Yale. He is fascinated by how epigenetic, transcriptional, and post-translational regulatory layers interact to shape plant development and environmental adaptation. His previous work combined single-cell multi-omics modeling with CRISPR-based validation to discover gene-regulatory and ubiquitin-mediated networks in rice roots and pollen. His long-term goal is to develop “AI-guided single-cell and spatial epigenomic frameworks” for engineering climate-resilient crops.

email: wonjae.hwang@yale.edu

Brennen is a first year PhD student in the BQBS track. He completed his B.Sc. in Biophysics at ASU, where he studied bacterial motility and mechanosensing. Brennen is generally interested in understanding the physical and chemical signals involved in plant-microbe interactions.

email: brennen.wise@yale.edu