Affiliate
ORISE/USDA
Madison, Wisconsin
Connor graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2022 with a Bachelor’s of Science in Botany. Currently, he is on an internship at the USDA Cereal Crop Research Unit in Madison, Wisconsin, funded through Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE). His research project is focused on the genetics of drought tolerance in barley (Hordeum vulgare). During the course of this project, he has gained hands-on experience especially phenotyping for drought tolerance, seed germination, and seed respiration. He is also evaluating the mini-core panel in a field and learning to use drone technology. On the data analysis front, he has gained expertise in using R-Studio for conducting Genome Wide Association Scans, QTL mapping, and candidate gene analysis. In the Fall of 2023, Connor will pursue his graduate education in plant pathology at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities studying fusarium head blight in barley.