Cesar Augusto Nascimento

Ph.D. in Genetics and Molecular Biology (University of Campinas Unicamp, 2022), with expertise in plant genetic engineering, functional genomics, and genome editing. My doctoral research involved the generation of sweet orange plants overexpressing the CsSAMT gene, followed by functional assays demonstrating enhanced resistance to major citrus pathogens, including Xanthomonas citri, Xylella fastidiosa, and Candidatus Liberibacter spp.I hold an M.Sc. in Tropical and Subtropical Agriculture (Agronomic Institute of Campinas IAC, 2016), where I conducted the functional characterization of terpene synthase genes in citrus, and a B.Sc. in Biological Sciences (2013).Most recently, as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the IACs Department of Genetics, I contributed to projects on direct somatic embryogenesis in coffee (Coffea arabica), focusing on the role of ethylene, and developed Agrobacterium-mediated transformation tools and CRISPR-Cas9 vectors for targeted genome editing. My work bridges fundamental plant molecular biology and applied biotechnology, aiming to accelerate breeding programs and the development of disease-resistant crops.Core skills: Plant transformation, CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing, Agrobacterium-mediated gene transfer, plant-pathogen interaction assays, functional genomics, vector design, molecular cloning, and tissue culture optimization. (Source: Lattes Curriculum)