University of Puerto Rico - Mayaguez Campus
LYDIA I. RIVERA VARGAS, PH.D.
PI of USDA- NIFA ECaFSS Project
Dr. Lydia I. Rivera-Vargas has a Ph.D. in Plant Pathology from The Ohio State University and a M.S. in Biology (Mycology) from UPRM. She is the PI of a USDA NIFA HIS sponsored project entitled: Encouraging careers in food security and safety (ECaFSS) since 2016. She has taught Plant Pathology and related courses at the College of Agricultural Sciences of the UPR-Mayagüez Campus for over 20 years.
Contact Information
Plant Pathologist/Professor
Dept. of Agro-Environmental Sciences
University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez
Mayagüez, P.R. 00681
(787) 832-4040 ext. 2351, 2313
Fax:(787) 265-3884
email: lydiai.rivera@upr.edu
DR. MARTHA C. GIRALDO ZAPATA, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Dr. Giraldo graduated with a degree in Biology with an emphasis in Genetics from the Universidad del Valle, in 1996. She worked as a Research Assistant at the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) and has experience in the application of molecular tools to characterize the genetic diversity of genebank collections of food crops and to study plant-microbe interactions.
Assistant Profesor
Dept. Agro-Environmental Sciences
University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez
Mayagüez, P.R. 00681
email: martha.giraldo@upr.edu
DR. PATRICIA ORTIZ-BERMÚDEZ, Ph.D.
Professor
Dr. Ortiz-Bermúdez obtained a Doctor of Philosophy degree (2005) from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UWM) and a Bachelor of Science degree (1999) from the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez (UPRM). She also completed postdoctoral training in Biomolecular Chemistry (2007) at the UWM.
Assistant Profesor
Dept. Chemical Engineering
University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez
Mayagüez, P.R. 00681
email: patricia.ortiz3@upr.edu
DR. MERARI FELICIANO RIVERA, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Dr. Merari Feliciano Rivera, obtained a Doctor of Philosophy in Plant Pathology (2011) from the University of Kentucky, Master in Crop Protection (2007) and Bachelor in Agricultural Education (2004) from the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez Campus. Dr. Feliciano-Rivera is Associate Professor in the Department of Agro-Environmental Sciences at the University of Puerto Rico since 2011.
Associate Profesor
Dept. Agro-Environmental Sciences
University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez
Mayagüez, P.R. 00681
email: merari.feliciano@upr.edu
DR. CONSUELO ESTÉVEZ DE JENSEN, Ph.D.
Professor
Dr. Consuelo Estévez de Jensen, Doctor of Philosophy (2001) in Plant Pathology and Master in Soil Science (1991) degrees from the University of Minnesota. As a Postdoctoral Associate led the common bean root rot research to establish management practices to control the disease in Minnesota (2001-2003). At the present, Dr. Estevez de Jensen holds a professor position at the University of Puerto Rico and is the Director of the Plant Diagnostic Clinic at the Substation of Fortuna.
Profesor
Dept. Agro-Environmental Sciences
University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez
Mayagüez, P.R. 00681
email: consuelo.estevez@upr.edu
DRA. LEYDA PONCE DE LEON, Ph.D.
Professor
Profesor
Dept. of Animal Sciences
University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez
Mayagüez, P.R. 00681
email: leyda.ponce@upr.edu
Staff
MARIAN ESPOLA SEPÚLVEDA, M.S.
ECaFSS Project Coordinator
Professor Marian Espola Sepúlveda is ECaFSS Project Coordinator and serves as a liaison between the project’s four collaborating institutions. She assists the Project Director in the coordination and management of program activities for both students and faculty, placing students in summer internships and data collection. She obtained a Master of Science in Biology (Mycology) in 2005 and a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Microbiology (2001) from the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez Campus.
Project Coordinator
Dept. Agro-Environmental Sciences
University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez
Mayagüez, P.R. 00681
email: ecafss@uprm.edu
LORENA SIMBAÑA-CARRERA, MS.C
Assistant Researcher
Ing. Lorena Simbaña-Carrera obtained a Master in Sciences degree (2016) from de University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez Campus (UPRM), and a bachelor of Agronomic Engineering (2012) from the Universidad Central in Ecuador. She is an Assistant Researcher in the Department of Agro-Environmental Sciences in the Crop Protection program. She specializes in the Molecular identification of Phytoplasmas, Fungi, and Bacterias in order to identify unreported microorganisms that affect harvests, crops, and other greenery in Puerto Rico.
Assistant Researcher
Dept. Agro-Environmental Sciences
University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez
Mayagüez, P.R. 00681
e-mail: lorena.simbana@uprm.edu