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 reseach
(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