Soybean Breeding Team
The Arkansas Soybean Breeding program develops soybean cultivars that are highly adapted to Arkansas and tailored to the needs of Arkansas farmers.
The Arkansas Soybean Breeding program develops and releases conventional and herbicide-resistant soybean cultivars tailored to the needs of Arkansas growers. Our activities include the development of high-yielding commodity and specialty soybean varieties, conducting research on genetic tolerance to yield-limiting biotic and abiotic stressors, improved seed composition, and novel breeding methodologies, and mentoring and training undergraduate and graduate students in the art and science of plant breeding.
Caio Canella Vieira
Assistant Professor
(CSES)-Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences
479-575-6045 | caioc@uark.edu
Caio Canella Vieira is an Assistant Professor of soybean breeding at the University of Arkansas, currently leading the University’s soybean breeding program. Before joining the University of Arkansas, Canella Vieira obtained his MS and Ph.D. in Plant Breeding, Genetics, and Genomics at the University of Missouri. His program in Arkansas targets the development and release of high-yielding conventional and herbicide-tolerant soybean cultivars with broad biotic and abiotic stressors tolerance, as well as improved seed composition. The program put efforts into identifying and incorporating economic-important traits from genetically diverse accessions into modern, high-yielding genetic backgrounds. Substantial efforts are also made to maximize the efficiency of the soybean breeding program through the implementation of genomic prediction and high-throughput phenotyping strategies throughout all stages of the pipeline.
Liliana Florez-Palacios
Program Associate II: Nursery Operations
(CSES)-Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences
479-575-2230 | sandrafp@uark.edu
Liliana Florez-Palacios, a Colombia native, has a Ph.D. in Plant Breeding and Genetics from the University of Arkansas. She joined the team in 2006 as an undergraduate intern and then proceeded to earn a MS and a Ph.D. Liliana has extensive experience managing research projects and breeding field operations. She is currently responsible for the design, preparation, and execution of all domestic and international nursery trials: crossing block, F1 to F4 breeding populations, and progeny rows.
Andrea Acuna-Galindo
Program Associate II: Molecular Laboratory Operations
(CSES)-Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences
479-575-2109 | macunaga@uark.edu
Andrea Acuna-Galindo, a Colombian native, earned her M.S. in Crop Sciences and a Ph.D. in Plant Breeding and Genetics at the University of Arkansas. With a background in cotton and wheat breeding and expertise in molecular lab techniques, she transitioned to the soybean team in 2018, taking on the role of Breeding Operations Lead. Currently, Andrea oversees the Research and Molecular Lab Operations, while specializing in marker-assisted selection, disease screening, GWAS, and Genomic Selection.
Chengjun Wu
Program Associate II: Abiotic Stress & Specialty Soybean
(CSES)-Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences
479-575-2230 | cwu@uark.edu
Chengjun Wu has a Ph.D. in Plant Sciences from Fudan University (China). He joined the team in 2011. Wu is an expert on abiotic stressors tolerance of soybean, specifically drought and flood tolerance. Wu also contributes to improving food-graded soybean, including the development of natto and edamame varieties.
Derrick Jerome Harrison
Program Associate I
(CSES)-Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences
479-575-5905 | derrickh@uark.edu
Derrick Jerome Harrison, an Arkansas native, joined the team in 2017 as a part-time employee. He then proceeded to earn a MS degree focused on screening soybeans for water-logging tolerance. He became a full-time employee upon graduation. As a program associate, Derrick mainly coordinates the breeding trial operations and supports purity and nursery operations.
Daniel Rogers
Program Technician II: Purity Operations
(CSES)-Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences
djrogers@uark.edu
Daniel James Rogers, an Arkansas native, joined the team in 2013. As a program technician, Daniel oversees the purity operations. His responsibilities include designing and executing all purity operations, handling pre-foundation increases of potential releases, phenotyping and purifying experimental lines, and leading drone remote sensing operations. In addition to these vital tasks, Daniel actively contributes to field experiments in Fayetteville and supports nursery operations.
Rafael Goncalves Marmo
Visiting Scholar
(CSES)-Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences
479-575-3529 | rafaelg@uark.edu
Rafael Goncalves Marmo, a visiting scholar from Brazil, joined the team in April 2023. His current role involves supporting laboratory activities including marker-assisted selection and disease screening, as well as assisting with field activities. Rafael will graduate with a BS at the end of 2023 and will become a MS student in our program starting January 2024. His unwavering belief in the power of hard work makes him a valuable asset to the team.
Jonathan David Mendoza Garcia
Visiting Scholar
(CSES)-Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences
479-316-1940 | jm199@uark.edu
Jonathan David Mendoza Garcia, a visiting scholar from Colombia, joined the team in July 2023. In his current role, Jonathan supports field and laboratory operations. He will graduate with a BS in 2024 and aims to pursue graduate school after completing his appointment in the program. Jonathan contributes valuable knowledge to the team’s efforts.