Daniel is originally from Brazil and recently (September 2019) received his doctorate degree in Plant Pathology at Federal University of Viçosa (UFV). He grew on a small, diversified farm where his parents still reside. He believes his agricultural background is why he enjoys learning and conducting new experiments, similar to what he is doing now at the EVADE Lab.
His previous studies have focused on quantitative epidemiology and management in difficult-to-control pathosystems, such as Fusarium wilt on bananas. He has conducted both field surveys and experiments for filling gaps of knowledge on the epidemiology of the wilt caused by race 1 (Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense) and mitigate the recent and foreseeable introduction of tropical race 4 (TR4) in the Americas.
He has also gained hands-on experience on experimental design, molecular analysis, population genetics studies, as well as biological and alternative control of plant diseases. He likes to create new ways to analyze and visualize the results of experiments using modern statistical tools and resources, such as the R statistical package. Daniel is passionate about multidisciplinary fields and about new technologies that can cause a true impact in agriculture.
He also has considerable leadership experience by serving as the graduate student’s representative in the steering board of the Post Graduate Program in Plant Pathology at the Federal University of Viçosa.
Outside of the lab he likes to travel, hang out with people, and make friends.
Education:
Mar 2008 – Mar 2013 B.Sc. in Agronomy, Universidade Tecnológica Federal do Paraná (UTFPR), Pato Branco – Paraná – Brazil.
Mar 2013 – Feb 2015 M.Sc. in Agronomy (Plant Protection), Universidade Estadual Paulista “Júlio de Mesquita Filho” (UNESP), Botucatu – São Paulo – Brazil.
Mar 2015 – Sep 2019 D.Sc. in Plant Pathology, Universidade Federal de Viçosa (UFV), Viçosa – Minas Gerais – Brazil.