Current Funding

Morton Arboretum Center for Tree Science Fellowship

Cynthia Webster, Karl C. Fetter, Carolina Jara, Adam Glendinning, Stefan Wnuk, Nicole Pauloski, Aziz Ebrahimi, Carolyn Pike, Anna Conrad, Jill Wegrzyn: "Advancing Genomic Research and Conservation Efforts Through De Novo Pangenome Construction: A Case Study on Juglans Species Threatened by a Non-Native Fungal Pathogen" (2024-2025)

Specific Objectives:

  1. Select Japanese walnut, butternut and buartnut individuals from the tails of the disease resistance trait distributions for whole genome sequencing
  2. Construct a de novo pangenome assembly with sequenced Juglans accessions and conduct a presence-absence variant-based association analysis

NSF Graduate Research Fellowship

Cynthia Webster: "Advancing Genomic Research and Conservation Efforts Through De Novo Pangenome Construction: A Case Study on Juglans Species Threatened by a Non-Native Fungal Pathogen" (2024-2027)

AFRI Competitive Grant 

Karl Fetter, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology: "A Conservation Genomics Program to Identify Climate Adapted Genes in the Eastern Hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) - USDA/NIFA (2023-2025)

ACCESSION NO: 1030624

UCONN CLAS Strategic Plan

Jill Wegrzyn, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology; Rachel O’Neill, Molecular and Cell Biology; Anne Bucklin, Marine Sciences: “Conservation and BioDiversity Genomics in a Changing Climate” - Academic Theme: The Earth and Its Future (2022-2023)

SURF Awards

2024

Anthony He
Project Title: Assembly and Annotation of a Chromosome‐Scale Reference Genome for the Golden Conure

Keertana Chagari
Project Title: Reproducible Bioinformatic Workflows to Produce Diploid Phased Eukaryotic Genome Assemblies

2023

Cristopher Guzman
Project Title: Genomic Examination of Juglans ailantifolia for the Continuation of Juglans cinerea Conservation against OCJ/SCJ Disease

Harshita Akella
Project Title: The first genome reference for the tropical legume, Inga vera, and comparative analysis of genes involved in nitrogen fixation among the Fabaceae

Emily Trybulec
Project Title: Automation of de novo genome assembly and comparative genomics using bioinformatic workflows

2022

Emily Strickland
Project Title: Emerald Ash Borer (Agrilus planipennis) Resistance in Pumpkin Ash (Fraxinus profunda)