Citrus Pathology Lab

Kseniya Chumachenko 

Biological Scientist/Lab Manager

 

Kseniya grew up in Urbana, Illinois and completed her Bachelor of Science degree in biology at Kansas State University (KSU). She continued to complete her Master of Science in plant pathology also at KSU, where her masters research was focused on the genetics of a Select Agent plant pathogenic bacteria and pathogen pathway/risk analysis. She has experience in Biosafety Level-3 laboratories at the Biosecurity Research Institute in Manhattan, Kansas, and training in plant disease diagnostics.

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She joined the citrus pathology lab in January of 2021 where her roles include lab management, assisting in various research projects in the lab, greenhouse, and field, as well as diagnosing citrus diseases for local growers and research projects. The laboratory projects are mainly focused on molecular biology and genetics research, in which she contributes a skillset of PCRs, DNA/RNA extractions, cDNA prep, microscopy (light and fluorescence), pathogen culture, plant preparations for experiments, and statistical data analysis. 

 

Kseniya is also interested in science communication through writing and digital media, because of which she led the creation of the Citrus Pathology Website. In her free time, Kseniya enjoys going to any Naples beach, hiking, and photography of the beautiful Southwest Florida nature and wildlife.