Plant Science Major

Faculty Mentors

Mentoring is a key tool for academic success! Students will meet with Dr. Liebowitz during their first semester to explore their interests, and during that conversation, we’ll match you with a Faculty Mentor with similar interests. If your spark takes a new turn during your journey, we can chat about finding you a new match!:

Step 1: Fill out this Brainstorming Tool
Step 2: Meet with Dr. Liebowitz to explore your spark and find a mentoring fit! (She will reach out to you when you join the program)
Step 3: Meet your match, and you’re off and running…

You’ll meet your faculty mentors at least once a semester for advice and guidance on:

Course electives
Scholarships
Professional societies and clubs
Internship opportunities
Capstone project idea development
Professional experience in research, teaching, and extension
Career or graduate school brainstorms

Associate Professor

Associate Professor
Department: Environmental Horticulture
Topics: Restoration and Plant Ecology
(352)273-4502

Erin Alvarez

Lecturer
Department: Environmental Horticulture
Topics: landscape management, public horticulture, professional development
(352)294-1582

Tolulope Agunbiade

Lecturer
Department: Entomology and Nematology
Topics: biosecurity, integrated pest management and genomics
(352) 294-6792

Ali Babar

Associate Professor
Department: Agronomy
Topics: world food crops breeding, plant breeding & molecular genetics
(352)273-2213

Kelly Balmant

Assistant Professor
Department: Horticultural Sciences

(352) 294-7546

Liliana M. Cano

Assistant Professor
Department: Plant Pathology / IRREC
Topic: plant pathology, pathogen effector biology, pathogen evolution
(772) 468-3922

Zhanao Deng

Professor
Department: Environmental Horticulture / GCREC
Topics: breeding, genetics, genomics, genome editing, biotechnology
(813) 419-6605

Jose C. B. Dubeux Jr.

Professor & Associate Chair
Department: Agronomy / NFREC

Topics: grassland, ecosystem services, livestock, crop-livestock systems
(850) 526-1618

Dr. William M. Hammond

Assistant Professor
Department: Agronomy
Topics: plant ecophysiology, plant mortality, climate change impacts
(352) 294-3792

Alfred Huo

Assistant Professor

Department: Environmental Horticulture / MREC
(407) 410-6954

Jeongim Kim

Assistant Professor
Department: Horticultural Sciences
Topics: Plant secondary metabolism and hormones, Metabolic engineering
(352) 273-4779

Ryan Klein

Assistant Professor
Department: Environmental Horticulture
Topics: arboriculture, tree risk assessment, trees and hurricanes
(352) 273-4519

Rosalie Koenig

Assistant Professor
Department: Agronomy & Center for Stress Resilient Ag.
Topics: agroecology, organic agriculture, international agriculture development
352-273-3495

Jason Kruse

Associate Professor
Department: Environmental Horticulture
Topics: turfgrass, landscape, general plant science, soils
(352) 273-4569

Tie Liu

Assistant Professor and Undergraduate Advisor
Dept: Horticultural Sciences
Topics: Postharvest Genomics, Potato Tuber Dormancy, Stress Biology
(352) 846-2638

Greg MacDonald

Professor and Undergraduate Advisor
Department: Agronomy Department
Topics: weed science and crop production
(352) 294-1594

Emma Matcham

Assistant Professor
Department: Agronomy
Topics: agronomic row crop fertility and production, extension
(352) 392-1811

Kimberly A. Moore

Professor and Assoc. Center Director for FLREC
Dep: Environmental Horticulture
Topics: plant nutrition, organic chemistry, alternative growing substrates
(954) 577-6328

Swathi Nadakuduti

Assistant Professor
Department: Environmental Horticulture
Topics: Plant biochemistry and biotechnology, Gene-editing and Biochemistry`````
(352) 273-4575

Gerardo Nunez

Assistant Professor and Undergraduate Advisor
Dept: Horticultural Sciences
Topics: plant physiology, berry crops, graduate school
(352) 273-4765

Ahmad A. Omar

Research Assistant Scientist
Department: Horticultural Sciences / CREC
Topics: molecular biology and biotechnology techniques
(863) 956-8678

Bala Rathinasabapathi

Professor and Undergraduate Advisor
Department: Horticultural Sciences
Topics: horticultural sciences, genetics, plant breeding and genomics
(352) 273-4847

Brantlee Spakes-Richter

Assistant Professor
Department: Plant Pathology
Topics: teaching & science communication, ind. experience, new disease research
(352) 273-2014

Edzard Van Santen

Professor
Department: Agronomy
Topics: agronomy, biostatistics
(352)392-3067

Steven Sargent

Professor and Associate Chair
Department: Horticultural Sciences
Topics: quality and technology of fresh fruits and vegetables
(352) 273-4780

Matt Smith

Professor
Department: Plant Pathology
Topics: Fungal Evolution, Ecology and Systematics
(352) 273-2837

Danielle Treadwell

Associate Professor
Department: Horticultural Sciences
Topics: state extension specialist organic/sustainable specialty crops
(352) 273-4775

Marcelo Wallau

Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist
Department: Agronomy
Topics: forage management, grazing, diffusion and implementation of technology
(352) 273-2216

Wagner Vendrame

Professor and Interim Chair
Department: Environmental Horticulture
Topics: Ornamental Micropropagation and Cryopreservation
(352) 273-4500

Catalin Voiniciuc

Associate Professor
Department: Horticultural Sciences
Topics: plant synthetic biology, cell wall polysaccharides
(352) 273-4782

Jianping Wang

Associate Professor
Department: Agronomy
Topics: plant genetics and genomics, Molecular biology
(352) 392-1864

Tom Yeager

Professor Emeritus
Department: Environmental Horticulture
Topics: Landscapes and Nursery Production

Xin Zhao

Professor and Undergraduate Coordinator
Department: Horticultural Sciences
Topics: organic and sustainable vegetable cropping systems, vegetable grafting
(352) 273-4773