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Intern Corner
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PGRU Internships

Interested in biodiversity, genetics, and conservation? Consider an internship with the Plant Genetic Resources Unit. We host students from diverse educational fields and provide practical training in field, greenhouse, and lab work. Interns also gain experience in data management, statistics, and science communication.

Check out what our past interns have accomplished!

2023 Interns

Jonathan Aponte
Finger Lakes Community College
 
Germplasm Curation, Extension, and Public Outreach
Skills acquired: Viticulture, conservation, phenotyping, outreach and extension

USDA-ARS Plant Genetic Resources Unit, Geneva, NY

 

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Anna Cohen
Cornell University
 
Tracking Tart Cherry Fruit Development
Skills acquired: liquid chromatography, statistics in R, pomology, and germplasm

USDA-ARS Plant Genetic Resources Unit, Geneva, NY

 

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 Tori Ford
 University of Florida
 Feral Hemp Niche Modeling
USDA-ARS Plant Genetic Resources Unit, Geneva, NY
 

Hello, I’m Tori Ford, I am an ORISE Scholar collaborating with the USDA’s PGRU Hemp Program. My interests lie in the interdisciplinary studies of botany, ecology, and computer science. In my time, I will be working to construct ecological niche models that predict the abiotically suitable area in the Midwestern United States for Feral Cannabis with hopes to use that information in the larger characterization of the feral subpopulation. In the future, I hope the mechanistic and computational skills I’ve learned during my time will help me become a better researcher and collaborator.

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Sam Page
Hobart and William Smith Colleges
 
Chemical Analysis of Dihydrochalcones within Malus Leaves
Skills acquired: liquid chromatography, statistics in R, pomology, and germplasm

USDA-ARS Plant Genetic Resources Unit, Geneva, NY

 

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Micaela Patterson
Appalachian State University
 
Phenotyping Seeds from the USDA Bottle Gourd Collection to Increase Crop Resilience in the Face of Climate Change
Skills acquired: Seed science and conservation, phenotyping, and germplasm

USDA-ARS Plant Genetic Resources Unit, Geneva, NY

 

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Abraham Porschet
Swarthmore College
 
Characterization of Dihydrochalcones in Malus domestica: Identifying Expressed Genes
Skills acquired: Chromatography, bioinformatics, RNAseq

USDA-ARS Plant Genetic Resources Unit, Geneva, NY

 

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Marcella Venettozzi
Hobart and William Smith Colleges
 
Pest Management and Plant Defense: Myzus cerasi and Extrafloral Nectaries in Cherry
Skills acquired: Gas chromatography, image analysis, R mastery, horticulture, entomology, vineyard management

USDA-ARS Plant Genetic Resources Unit, Geneva, NY

 

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2022 Interns

Nana Yaa Asante
Hobart and William Smith Colleges
 
Melatonin, phenolics, and fruit quality in tart cherries
Skills acquired: liquid chromatography, statistics in R, pomology, and germplasm

USDA-ARS Plant Genetic Resources Unit, Geneva, NY

 

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Alexa Kennel
Goshen College
 
Chemical analysis in Vitis vinifera germplasm
Skills acquired: liquid chromatography, statistics in R, viticulture, and germplasm

USDA-ARS Plant Genetic Resources Unit, Geneva, NY

 

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Daniel Meyers
Oakridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE)
 
Survey of the USDA cold-hardy germplasm for grapevine trunk diseases
Skills acquired: 

USDA-ARS Plant Genetic Resources Unit, Geneva, NY

 

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Ashya Reid
Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University
 
The effect of hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) byproducts in mealworm (Tenebrio molitor L.) diet
Skills acquired: 

USDA-ARS Plant Genetic Resources Unit, Geneva, NY

 

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Zaria Smith
Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University
 
Development and application of priority trait evaluation protocols and terpene analysis method
Skills acquired: 

USDA-ARS Plant Genetic Resources Unit, Geneva, NY

 

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2021 Interns

Anthony Barraco
Cornell University
 
Establishing international hemp fiber phenotyping protocols and optimizing hemp germplasm curatorial techniques.
Skills acquired: hemp horticultural techniques, fiber analysis, DEI and outreach, controlled environment agriculture, 

I believe Industrial Hemp offers exciting opportunities for many sectors within the agriculture industry and beyond. My interest within hemp lies primarily in the genotypes that have been bred for fiber/hurd production and the fascinating bio-construction products that can be created from the stalk of the plant. I am currently measuring pectin degradation throughout the field retting period of many European fiber cultivars in Upstate New York to better understand the effects of weather on stem morphology during this highly variable, yet important post-harvest process. I am also currently invested in providing accessible hemp education materials to undergraduate students across the U.S.

 

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Allison Chhay
Cornell University
 
Measuring the impacts of the USDA-ARS PGRU (Geneva, NY) Clonal and Vegetable crop collections
Skills acquired: Statistics in R, SQL, Umbraco, horticulture, and germplasm

USDA-ARS Plant Genetic Resources Unit, Geneva, NY

 

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Taylor Coburn
Hobart and William Smith Colleges
 
Investigating dihydrochalcones in apple
Skills acquired: liquid chromatography, statistics in R, DNA isolation and PCR, and germplasm

USDA-ARS Plant Genetic Resources Unit, Geneva, NY

 

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Meredith Ryan
Yale University
 
Dihydrochalcones and apple russeting
Skills acquired: liquid chromatography, statistics in R, RNA isolation, horticulture, and germplasm

USDA-ARS Plant Genetic Resources Unit, Geneva, NY

 

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2020 Interns

Molly Dexter
Hobart William Smith Colleges
 
Phenotypic analysis of fire blight in Malus species
Skills acquired: plant pathology, statistics, horticulture, digital agriculture, genetics and germplasm

USDA-ARS Plant Genetic Resources Unit Geneva, NY

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Anya Osatuke
Cornell University
 
Establishing a new USDA-ARS hemp germplasm repository
Skills acquired: High-throughput phenotyping, scientific translation, botanical illustration, germplasm genetics, data mining

USDA-ARS Plant Genetic Resources Unit, Geneva, NY

 

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2019 Interns

Kyra Battaglia
University of Rochester
 
Characterization of the USDA Tart Cherry (Prunus cerasus) Collection in Geneva, NY
Skills acquired: liquid chromatography, chemistry, statistics, horticulture, pomology, and germplasm

USDA-ARS Plant Genetic Resources Unit, Geneva, NY

 

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Lindsay Brown
Cornell University
 
Effect of powdery mildew resistance on phenolic content of inoculated Vitis leaves
Skills acquired: liquid chromatography, chemistry, statistics, horticulture, viticulture, plant pathology, and germplasm

USDA-ARS Plant Genetic Resources Unit, Geneva, NY

 

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Molly Carroll
Purdue University
 
Quantitative determination of anthocyanin compounds during tart cherry maturation
Skills acquired: liquid chromatography, chemistry, statistics, horticulture, pomology, and germplasm

USDA-ARS Plant Genetic Resources Unit Geneva, NY

 

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Lindsey Lesniak
Hobart and William Smith Colleges
 
Understanding grapevine (Vitis) domestication and variation between Vitis species through analysis of polyphenolic and aromatic compounds
Skills acquired: chemistry, LC/MS and GC/MS, genetics and germplasm, viticulture

USDA-ARS Plant Genetic Resources Unit, Geneva, NY

 

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2018 Interns

Kayla Aulet and Kenisha Ross
Hobart and William Smith Colleges
 
Comparison of anthocyanin levels in the USDA Tart Cherry Collection
Skills acquired: liquid chromatography, chemistry, statistics, horticulture and germplasm

USDA-ARS Plant Genetic Resources Unit, Geneva, NY

 

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