Translational Plant Sciences Fellow, William Rolling will be interning with Arcadia Biosciences in Davis, California. He will be working with Dr. Claire McCallum a Principal Scientist in autumn 2017.

William is a third year PhD TPS student advised by Drs. Leah McHale and Anne Dorrance. His primary research focus is plant genetics and breeding. Specifically his thesis research revolves around identifying genetic mechanisms of resistance to the soybean pathogen Phytophthora sojae. The goal of his thesis research is to identify ways to more effectively breed for Phytophthora resistance. 

The focus of Arcadia Biosciences is to commercialize agricultural products that are environmentally friendly and beneficial to human health. To accomplish these goals, Arcadia uses state-of-the-art breeding and biotech traits to improve a number of crop systems. At Arcadia, William will work toward characterizing a trait related to increasing wheat yield, working both in the laboratory and field. 

William hopes to gain valuable experience through this internship. Specifically, he would like to gain experience performing field research, working in a different crop system, and working in a private industry setting. This internship will build upon previous professional experiences at Pioneer-DuPont and the USDA-Agricultural Research Service.

William's longterm goal is to continue to work in plant breeding and genetics as a research scientist in industry or for USDA-ARS.