Faculty
Jennifer Corbin(Project Manager 2020-2024)
Jennifer grew up in Greenwood, AR. She completed her bachelor’s degree in Agriculture Business and Economics at the University of Arkansas. After graduating Jennifer then went to work full time for Mississippi State University Delta Research and Extension Center. While working full time for the Rice Breeding and Agronomy team she earned her Master’s degree in Agronomy from Mississippi State. In Fall 2020, Jennifer accepted the position with Dr. Gasic for the role as Project Manager on the Armillaria Root Rot USDA grant. Jennifer enjoys anything with family, and most of her spare time is devoted to her two boys, Lyndon and Leo.
John Mark Lawton (Lab/Field Technician 2019-2024)
John Mark Lawton was raised in rural Cleveland, SC. He attended Clemson University and graduated with a Horticulture Degree in 2015. After a year of operating his own high intensity organic vegetable operation, he landed a job with Clemson University at the esteemed Musser Fruit Research Center in April of 2017. He assisted in all farm duties including nursery management, data collection and orchard upkeep and was the acting Food Safety Officer. He started working as the Laboratory/Field Technician for Dr. Gasic’s peach breeding program in the spring of 2019. He continued his education while working at Clemson and graduated with a Master’s in Plant and Environmental Science in 2021. John Mark is an avid outdoorsman enjoying hiking, camping, kayaking, and backpacking. He also enjoys cooking and working in his garden, in his spare time.
Asma Abdelghafar (Postdoctoral Research Associate 2023-2024)
Asma Abdelghafar is originally from Benghazi, Libya. She procured her Bachelor and Master of Science degrees from Garyounis University in Libya with a focus on botany and plant physiology. After graduating from Garyounis University in 2009, she got a scholarship from her government to pursue a Doctorate degree. In 2012, she was accepted in to Clemson University’s Plant and Environmental Science PhD program. Asma’s research focused on enabling marker-assisted breeding for phytochemical compounds in peach. Asma received her doctorate degree in December of 2016. Asma rejoined the lab in 2023 to assist with the ARR project. Asma loves spending time with her family, and she enjoys teaching and helping others in different ways.
Alejandro Calle (Postdoctoral Research Associate (2021-2023)
Alejandro is originally from Magacela, Spain. He completed his bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Engineering at University of Extremadura in 2013. After graduating, Alejandro earned a Master’s degree in Food Quality and he began working as lab technician at Department of Animal Production and Food Quality of University of Extremadura. In 2015, Alejandro started his Ph.D. in CITA – University of Zaragoza, where research focused mainly on the genetics of relevant phenology related and fruit quality traits of sweet cherry, earning his Ph.D. in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry in Fall 2019. He joined the Gasic Lab as a postdoctoral research associate in 2021 where he worked in the Armillaria Root Rot USDA grant. He also enjoys any outdoor activities especially mountain biking and hiking.
Sarah Miller (Postdoctoral Research Associate 2018-2019)
Sarah Miller completed her undergraduate degree in Secondary Science Education from Colorado State University in 2009 and went on to teach high school sciences in Greenville County School District for several years. Sarah then attended graduate school at Colorado State University where she researched morphological, physiological and biochemical responses of sorghum to drought stress and completed her Ph.D. in Bioagricultural Sciences in 2018. She joined the Gasic Lab as a postdoctoral research associate in 2018 where she is currently involved in developing short and long-term solutions to reduce the effects of Armillaria Root Rot, a soil-borne fungal root disease that is a primary cause of premature peach tree decline in South Carolina. In her free time, Sarah works on her own farm where she enjoys homesteading and horseback riding.
PhD. Students
Wanfang Fu ( 2015-2022)
Wanfang Fu is from China. She finished her undergraduate study in Central South University of Forestry and Technology in Changsha, China, and earned her Bachelor of Forestry. In her undergraduate study, she mainly focused on the non-timber forest, which gave her an interest on fruit tree breeding. She followed Dr. Gasic in Clemson University to pursue a Master of Science (thesis) degree in Plant and Environmental Sciences. In her current study, she is working on disease resistance breeding for peaches on brown rot and bacterial spot. Wanfang enjoys her time both in the lab and farm. In her spare time, she likes going to the gym and watching movies.
Masters Students
Jared Weaver (2022-2024)
Jared Weaver is originally from Charlotte, North Carolina. He obtained his Bachelor of Arts in Biological Sciences with a minor in Legal Studies at Clemson University in 2022. During this time he cultivated an interest in plant biology and pathology. After graduation, Jared was accepted to the Gasic lab to pursue his Master of Science in Plant and Environmental Science. His research focuses on profiling the transcriptome and metabolome of Armillaria Root Rot fungi in peach. Specifically, he is looking to identify candidate effector genes used during infection and baseline metabolites produced by the fungi. In his free time, he enjoys hiking, playing golf and basketball, and reading.
Ufuk Caglar ( 2021-2023)
Ufuk grew up in Antalya, Turkey. He completed his bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Engineering at Selcuk University in Konya. In his bachelor’s degree, he was working on vegetable breeding, such as pepper, tomatoes, and pumpkins. He worked for Republic of Turkiye Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry Alata Horticultural Research Institute as an internship. He went to University of Delaware to take an English course with the support of Turkish Government. While completing his work, he was awarded by being an honor student. He achieved his Master’s degree at Clemson University in Plant and Environmental Sciences. Ufuk enjoys kayaking, hiking and hanging around with friends in his spare time.
Omer Atagul ( 2020-2022)
Omer Atagul was born in Turkey on Oct 29, 1992. He graduated from Kahramanmaras Sutcu Imam University Department of Horticulture in 2016. After graduation, he worked as an agricultural engineer in a private company, while keeping in contact with his professors at the university. He encountered an opportunity for a scholarship program supported by the Ministry of National Education of Turkey. He always dreamed of studying abroad when he was a kid, and this scholarship opened the door for a master’s degree in the United States of America, focusing on plant breeding. He started working under Dr. Gasic’s peach breeding program in the spring of 2020. He is currently working towards his master’s degree in Plant and Environmental Sciences studying QTLs mapping on heat requirements related to bloom time. After Clemson, he will return to Turkey and will work on behalf of TAGEM as a plant engineer. In addition to his work life, he is happily married and has a beautiful son. He loves spending time with his family, playing clarinet, reading historical documentaries. His favorite hobbies include hiking and cooking for friends and family.
Gizem Demirel ( 2019-2021)
Gizem Demirel is from Turkey. She graduated from Ondokuz Mayis University at Department of Horticulture in Turkey. After her undergraduate studies she kept in contact with her professors and she carried out more research and projects with many fruit species. These studies and her experiences showed her the necessity of education on fruit breeding and motivated her to continue to a Masters education in the United States. With this purpose, Gizem received a scholarship given by Ministry of National Education in Turkey to do Master’s in the United States. After finishing Master’s, Gizem is going to work for Ministry of Agriculture in Turkey. She started her Master education on August 2019 in the Plant and Environmental Science at Clemson University under Dr. Gasic.
Jake Taylor (2021)
Jake Taylor grew up in the small town of Arroyo Grande, CA. After graduating high school, Jake spent two years in the Lisbon metro area in Portugal doing service work with his church. Once that was finished, he got his Bachelor’s degree in Genetics and Biotechnology from BYU. While there, Jake worked in the Orphaned Crops Lab under Dr. Rick Jellen. He worked with quinoa strains which had hybridized with wild goosefoot in an effort to identify potentially useful traits for an international breeding effort. He traveled across the western states and Morocco planting field trials and collecting seed samples. As of August 2021, Jake is a Master’s student working under the Armillaria root rot grant and will likely stay for his PhD after defending his Master’s thesis. He is crazy about plants and loves spending time outdoors. He also has a growing collection of synthesizer keyboards which he enjoys playing.
Mark Jasinski ( 2016-2019)
Mark Jasinski is originally from Traverse City, Michigan. Always interested in science, he obtained his Bachelor’s Degree in Genetics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2014. As an undergraduate, Mark worked on symbiotic relationships between nitrogen-fixing bacteria and rice crops. After graduation, he began working at a research farm in Deforest, WI to continue his experience in the agriculture industry. Mark was accepted into the Gasic program in 2016 to pursue his Master’s degree in Plant and Environmental Sciences. His research focuses on the biosynthesis of carotenoids and their effect on commercial peaches, along with the development of functional allele markers to aid in the breeding process. In his free time, Mark enjoys playing basketball and golf, is an avid reader and writer, and is entertained by tracking statistics on sports and other interests.
Jonathan Windham ( 2016-2018)
Jonathan Windham is from the small town of Lamar, SC. He earned his undergraduate degree in Horticulture from Clemson University in 2013. Jonathan’s experience in the Gasic lab began in May of 2012 when he was hired as an intern and continued until graduation. In August of 2015, Jonathan was hired at the Clemson University Pee Dee Research and Education Center (REC) in Florence, SC. He is currently pursuing a master’s degree in the Plant and Environmental Sciences graduate program at Clemson University under Dr. Ksenija Gasic. In his free time, Jonathan breeds roses and is the curator of the Clemson University Rose Repository housed at the Pee Dee REC.
Student Workers
Eva Marquez (2021-2022)
Eva Marquez grew up in Hanahan, SC. She is currently working on a BS in Microbiology at Clemson University. She started working for Dr. Gasic’s peach breeding program in the fall of 2021. Eva enjoys learning new things, being outdoors, and playing the ukulele.
Alex Frangiosa (2016-2018)
Alex Frangiosa grew up in Philadelphia, PA and applied to Clemson for the Wildlife department. She is currently a Wildlife and Fisheries Biology major with a minor in Forest Resource Management, hoping to graduate in May 2018. After graduating she plans to attend veterinary school before becoming a wildlife veterinarian. Her wildlife biology classes emphasized plant and ecosystem studies, giving her a passion for plants. She has conducted invasive plant research with Dr. Don Hagan in the past, creating an interest in invasive plants. Alex joined the Gasic Lab to continue working on plant research (she also loves peaches, so this is a perfect fit!).
