FernandesLAB
Join us

Join our team

We welcome statisticians, geneticists, computer scientists, and agronomists. Below are our current openings — prospective graduate students and visiting scholars are also encouraged to get in touch.

Now hiring

Post-Doctoral Fellow

University of Arkansas–Fayetteville · UADA External Career Site

Quantitative genetics, genomic prediction & machine learning for plant breeding

View & apply

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)

Post Doctoral Fellows

Melina Prado

Melina Prado

Post Doctoral Fellow

University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture (UADA | AES)

Email: melinapr [at] uark [dot] edu

Research Interests

  • Quantitative Genomics
  • Predictive Plant Breeding
  • Enviromics
  • Evolutionary Genomics

Education

Ph.D. in Genetics and Plant Breeding — "Luiz de Queiroz" College of Agriculture (Brazil)
M.S. in Genetics and Plant Breeding — "Luiz de Queiroz" College of Agriculture (Brazil)
MBA — "Luiz de Queiroz" College of Agriculture (Brazil)
B.S. in Biotechnological Engineering — "Júlio de Mesquita Filho" São Paulo State University (Brazil)

PhD Students

Elias Z. Mohellebi

Elias Z. Mohellebi

Research Technician

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)

Interns

João Pedro Neigri Heleno

João Pedro Neigri Heleno

Research Interests

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

Education

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

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.

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
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
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