Gerardo Alejo-Jacuinde, an international expert in bioinformatics and plant biotechnology, has been named a Research Assistant Professor in Functional Genomics within Texas Tech’s Department of Plant & Soil Science, according to officials within the Davis College of Agricultural Sciences & Natural Resources. He officially stepped into his new research post on Nov. 1.
Alejo-Jacuinde will be working within one of Davis College's leading scientific teams - the Institute of Genomics for Crop Abiotic Stress Tolerance. He is expected to develop an externally competitive research program focused on molecular and biochemical mechanisms underlying novel plant adaptations to extreme environments that might be key in generation of crops with enhanced stress resilience. Alejo-Jacuinde currently serves as an IGCAST Research Scientist.
“The ability of plants to survive extreme environmental conditions is impressive, and the study of genomes could provide key clues about the molecular signatures associated with these adaptations,” Alejo-Jacuinde said.
One of Alejo-Jacuinde’s primary goals at Texas Tech is to characterize the molecular responses to abiotic stress using a multi-omics approach.
Prior to joining the faculty, Alejo-Jacuinde served as a laboratory assistant at Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del IPN (CINVESTAV) in Irapuato, Mexico: He received his bachelor’s degree in biochemical engineering from the Instituto Tecnológico de Celaya (Mexico). He earned his master’s degree in plant biotechnology and his doctorate in plant biotechnology both from CINVESTAV in Langebio, Mexico.
Led by Luis Rafael Herrera-Estrella, the high-profile IGCAST research group examines how plants adapt to thrive in the presence of environmental stresses such as extreme heat and cold, drought and in the presence of brackish water sources. Herrera-Estrella’s arrival at Texas Tech was made possible by a $5 million grant from the State of Texas Governor's University Research Initiative and matched by the university to bring the best and brightest researchers to Texas.
IGCAST was established in 2020 with a mission of conducting top-ranked research and graduate education on the use of functional and population genomics to understand the molecular mechanisms that determine resilience of crops and related wild species to adverse environmental stresses in the era of climate change.
The research group aims at integrating an interdisciplinary team of scientists to conduct internationally competitive, multidisciplinary research to study physiological, biochemical and molecular mechanisms and plant architecture underlying resistance to environmental stresses, contributing to the development of sustainable agriculture.
CONTACT: Glen Ritchie, Department Chair, Department of Plant & Soil Science, Texas Tech University at (806) 742-4325 or glen.ritchie@ttu.edu
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