FernandesLAB
Join us

Join our team

We welcome statisticians, geneticists, computer scientists, and agronomists. We have no open positions at the moment — prospective graduate students and visiting scholars are encouraged to get in touch.

Principal Investigator

Samuel B. Fernandes

Samuel B. Fernandes

Assistant Professor of Agricultural Statistics and Quantitative Genetics

University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture (UADA)
Center for Agricultural Data Analytics (CADA)
Director, Experiment Station (DREX)

Phone: 479-575-5677

Email: samuelbf [at] uark [dot] edu

Research Interests

  • Quantitative Genetics
  • Statistics
  • Plant Breeding
  • Machine Learning & AI

Education

Ph.D. in Genetics and Plant Breeding — Federal University of Lavras (Brazil)
M.S. in Genetics and Plant Breeding — Federal University of Lavras (Brazil)
B.S. in Agronomy — University of Brasília (Brazil)

Research Staff

Erin Farmer

Erin Farmer

Program Associate

University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture (UADA)

Email: eefarmer [at] uark [dot] edu

Research Interests

  • High-Throughput Phenotyping
  • Statistics and Machine Learning
  • Quantitative Genetics
  • Trait Preferences

Education

Ph.D. in Plant Breeding and Genetics — Cornell University
M.Sc. in Local Economic Development — London School of Economics and Political Science (United Kingdom)
B.S. in Physics and Mathematics — University of Arkansas
B.A. in Economics — University of Arkansas
Mario Morales

Mario Morales

Postdoctoral Fellow

University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture (UADA)

Email: mamorales [at] uark [dot] edu

Research Interests

  • Mathematical and Computational Biology
  • Statistical Machine Learning, Deep Learning & AI
  • Data Visualization and User Interfaces

Education

Ph.D. in Genomics, Phenomics and Bioinformatics — North Dakota State University
M.S. in Bioinformatics — New York University
M.S. in Applied Mathematics and Statistics — City University of New York (Hunter College)
B.A. in Economics (focus on Econometrics) — Universidad de los Andes (Colombia)

PhD Students

Elias Z. Mohellebi

Elias Z. Mohellebi

PhD Student

University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture (UADA)

Phone: 215-934-9601

Email: ezmo [at] uark [dot] edu

Research Interests

  • High Dimensional Data Analysis
  • Deep Learning Frameworks
  • Machine Learning Models
  • Feature Engineering
  • GxE Predictions
  • Data Curation
  • GIS Modeling

Education

M.S. in Data Analytics — Penn State University
M.P.S. in Engineering Management — Penn State University
M.S. in Mechanical Engineering (Energetics) — University of Tizi Ouzou (Algeria)
B.S. in Mechanical Engineering — University of Tizi Ouzou (Algeria)

Master Students

Julia Gonçalves Batista

Julia Gonçalves Batista

Major: Statistics and Analytics

Expected Graduation: 2027

Email: jg329 [at] uark [dot] edu

Research Interests

  • Data Analysis
  • Deep Learning
  • Machine Learning
  • Genomic Prediction

Education

B.S. in Chemical Engineering — Paraná Federal University of Technology (Brazil)
Carlos Ramos Bisinotto

Carlos Ramos Bisinotto

Major: Statistics and Analytics

Expected Graduation: 2026

Email: cer049 [at] uark [dot] edu

Research Interests

  • Deep Learning
  • Machine Learning
  • Hyperspectral Data
  • Linear Mixed Models

Education

B.S. in Statistics — Federal University of Goiás (Brazil)
Soni Pinjala

Soni Pinjala

Major: Computer Science

Expected Graduation: 2027

Email: spinjala [at] uark [dot] edu

Research Interests

  • Deep Learning
  • Machine Learning
  • LLMs and AI Agents

Education

B.S. in Computer Science and Engineering — Amrita School of Engineering (India)
Danilo Silva Carvalho de Oliveira

Danilo Silva Carvalho de Oliveira

Major: Statistics and Analytics

Expected Graduation: 2028

Email: dsilvacarvalhode [at] uark [dot] edu

Research Interests

  • Conformal Prediction
  • Data Science
  • Machine Learning
  • Deep Learning
  • Quantitative Genetics

Education

B.S. in Statistics — Federal University of Goiás (Brazil)
João Pedro Neigri Heleno

João Pedro Neigri Heleno

Major: Statistics and Analytics

Expected Graduation: 2028

Email: jheleno [at] uark [dot] edu

Research Interests

  • Data Science
  • Machine Learning
  • Deep Learning
  • Feature Engineering
  • Genetics

Education

B.S. in Computer Engineering — Paraná Federal University of Technology (Brazil)

Interns

No current interns — check back soon or get in touch if you're interested.

Alumni & Career Paths

We're proud of everyone who has been part of the lab. Here we celebrate our former members and the first steps they took beyond our group.

Melina Prado

Melina Prado

Melina's Career Transition

  • 20— – 20— · Post Doctoral Fellow
    University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture (UADA | AES)
  • 20— · Transitioned to —
    —
Igor K. Fernandes

Igor K. Fernandes

Igor's Career Transition

  • 2023 – 2024 · Graduate Research Assistant
    M.S. in Statistics and Analytics — University of Arkansas
  • 2024 – 2025 · Program Associate
    University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture (UADA)
  • 2025 · Transitioned to Senior Data Scientist
    Bosch Brazil
Matthew Murphy

Matthew Murphy

Matthew's Career Transition

  • 2019 – 2023 · PhD Candidate
    PhD in Crop Science — University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
  • 2023 – 2024 · Post Doctoral Fellow
    University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture (UADA)
  • 2024 · Transitioned to Research Scientist
    Advanta Seeds
Ashmita Upadhyay

Ashmita Upadhyay

Ashmita's Career Transition

  • 2022 – 2024 · Graduate Research Assistant
    M.S. in Crop, Soil, and Environmental Sciences — University of Arkansas
  • 2024 · Transitioned to Graduate Research Assistant
    Doctorate Degree — The University of Georgia