Current Members
Dr. Susana Milla-Lewis
Professor and University Faculty Scholar
Susana is originally from Lima, Peru. She graduated with a B.S. in Biological Sciences from Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia (Lima, Peru) in 1995. She obtained her M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in plant breeding and genetics from North Carolina State University in 1998 and 2003, respectively. Her main research interests are in germplasm characterization and development of breeding populations, and the utilization of new technologies in association with conventional breeding methods for turfgrass improvement.
Susana is married to another public breeder and has two daughters. Her hobbies include traveling (especially to her beloved Peru), cooking, and enjoying her favorite microbrews.
Contact Information
susana_milla-lewis@ncsu.edu
919-515-3196
1126B Williams Hall
Xingwang Yu
Research Associate
Xingwang is originally from Shandong, China. He graduated with a B.S degree in Plant Science & Technology at Hunan Agricultural University (Changsha, China). He got his Ph.D. degree in Plant Genetics from Nanjing Agricultural University (Nanjing, China) in 2015. He moved to North Carolina and joined our program in 2016.
Xingwang’s current research emphasis are on understanding the genetic and molecular basis of growth, abiotic and biotic stress tolerance in warm-season turfgrasses, including QTL and association analysis, gene and protein identification, and development of maker assisted selection (MAS).
Xingwang is married to an excellent scientist. He likes playing soccer and has always been a faithful fan to his hometown soccer team-Shandong Luneng.
Contact Information
xyu15@ncsu.edu
919-515-0324
4114 Williams Hall
Esdras M. Carbajal
Research Specialist
Esdras, originally from Yorito-Yoro, Honduras, received his B.S. in natural resources from the Universidad Nacional de Agricultura (Olancho, Honduras). Esdras started with the program in 2010 as an international scholar. He obtained his M.S. degree from NC State University in 2017 working on the use of colchicine to manipulate ploidy levels in St. Augustinegrass. Currently, he is pursuing his PhD in plant breeding, working tissue culture on different warm-season turfgrass species.
Esdras manages all field and greenhouse aspects of the program as well as the St. Augustinegrass and Zoysiagrass crossing programs.
He enjoys spending time with his family, and many aquatic pets. Esdras hobbies are cardio-dance, hiking, and swimming.
Contact Information
emcarbaj@ncsu.edu
919-515-3775
840 Method Rd, Raleigh, NC 27607
Unit 2, Room 14
Rocio van der Laat
Research Specialist
Rocio is originally from San Jose, Costa Rica. She joined the program as a Research Assistant in 2017. Rocio got a B.S. in Agronomy from the Universidad de Costa Rica, and a B.S. in Entomology and a M.S. in Crop Production and Physiology, both from Iowa State University.
Rocio currently leads our efforts in screening germplasm for pest resistance in zoysiagrass and St. Augustinegrass. Additionally, she manages the molecular lab including our turfgrass DNA testing unit.
Rocio enjoys spending time with her family, gardening and traveling.
Contact Information
rvander@ncsu.edu
919-515-0324
4114A Williams Hall
Beatriz Gouveia
Research Associate
Beatriz is originally from Esperanca Nova, Parana State, Brazil. She graduated with a B.S degree in Agronomy at Universidade Estadual de Maringa (Umuarama, Brazil) in 2014. She got her M.S. in plant science and Ph.D. in plant genetics and plant breeding from Universidade Federal de Lavras (Lavras, Brazil) in 2016 and 2019, respectively.
Beatriz joined the team in 2020 to work on data analytics for the Warm-Season Turfgrass Specialty Crops Research Initiative (SCRI) projects. Her current research focuses on optimize the breeding pipeline of the seeded centipedegrass breeding program while leading data analysis for collaborative projects and the NCSU breeding program.
Beatriz enjoys spending time with her family and friends, traveling, cooking and running.
Contact Information
gouveiabt@ncsu.edu
4114A Williams Hall
Balihar Kaur
Graduate Research Assistant
Balihar is originally from Punjab, India. She earned her B.Tech and Master’s degree in Biotechnology from Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana in 2021 and 2024, respectively.
She joined the team in Summer 2024 to pursue a PhD in plant breeding. Balihar is working on improving seed yield potential of zoysiagrass for better turf establishment and performance. Her current research focuses on understanding the genetic architecture of seed-related traits, and examining physiological mechanisms, relating to seed germination and dormancy, among different warm-season zoysiagrass accessions.
In her free time, she enjoys jamming on her guitar and painting with watercolors.
Contact Information
bkaur2@ncsu.edu
4114 Williams Hall
Stefano Fratton
Graduate Research Assistant
Stefano is originally from a small village in the Alps of Northern Italy. After earning his first Master’s degree in Agronomy from Padua University (Italy) in 2004, he specialized further with another Master’s in AgroBioScience from ENSAT Institute (France) in 2023.
Stefano became a member of the team in Summer 2024 to pursue a PhD in plant breeding. His work consists in leveraging high-throughput phenotyping (HTP) platforms to accelerate the selection of zoysiagrass genotypes with enhanced seed production traits. His research integrates HTP, genomics, seed physiology, and traditional breeding methods to develop advanced seeded cultivars with meaningful economic and environmental benefits.
Outside of his research, he loves spending time with his family, and has set off on a journey to discover hidden gems across America’s vast terrain.
Contact Information
sfratto@ncsu.edu
4114 Williams Hall
Jaswinder Kaur
Graduate Research Assistant
Jaswinder is originally from a small town of Punjab, India, where being always surrounded by agriculture she found her passion for the field. She graduated with a BSc in Agriculture from Punjab Agricultural University (Punjab, India) in 2021. She got an MS in Plant Science, with a concentration in Plant Pathology, from South Dakota State University in 2023. By the end of her MS degree, she realized that she wanted to work in plant breeding and genetics.
Jaswinder started a PhD in Crop Science in Spring of 2024. She is jointly advised by Dr. Joseph Gage and Dr. Susana Milla-Lewis. Her dissertation focuses on breeding and genetics of St. Augustinegrass.
Jaswinder spends all her spare time sketching, painting and hiking.
Contact Information
jkaur6@ncsu.edu
Jose M. Falconi Villalobos
International Research Intern
Jose M. is originally from Lima, Peru. He graduated with a B.S. in Biological Sciences from Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia (Lima, Peru) in 2018. Jose joined the team in April 2024 as a Research Intern. As a provisional member of the program he’s dedicated to provide support across different research areas in hands-on tasks to assist team members while gaining exposure to various breeding techniques and research practices.
He enjoys spending time with his partner and his hobbies are learning & teaching languages and playing videogames & board games with friends.
Contact Information
jmfalco3@ncsu.edu
+1 (919) 264-2850
4114 Williams Hall
Santos Jeovanny Aguilera Vallecillo
International Research Intern
Santos is originally from Patuca-Olancho, Honduras. He graduated with B. S degree in Agricultural Engineering from Universidad Nacional de Agricultura (Olancho, Honduras) in 2018. He got an M.S. degree in Animal Science from Universidade Federal do Piaui (Piaui, Brazil) in 2021. Santos joined the team as a Research Intern working on the field and greenhouse aspects of the program. Additionally, he assists other members of the program with DNA extractions, flow cytometry, and mutation breeding.
Santos spends his free time watching soccer games, talking to people, reading books, or traveling to new places.
Contact Information
sjaguile@ncsu.edu
4114 Williams Hall