Contact Information:                       

Phone:

(609) 726-2544

Address:

125A Lake Oswego Rd 

Chatsworth, NJ 08019                           

 

Links:

Rutgers P.E. Marucci Center for Blueberry & Cranberry Research

Google Scholar

GitHub

 

 

Personnel:

Kara Brunngraber, Biological Science Technician (2020 – Present)

 

We are always looking for talented individuals who want to work on Vaccinium breeding and genetics. If you are interested in joining the lab as a undergraduate student, graduate student, or postdoc, contact Jeff Neyhart at jeffrey.neyhart@usda.gov to discuss opportunities.

 

Biographical Information:

Dr. Jeff Neyhart is a Research Geneticist in the Genetic Improvement for Fruits and Vegetables Laboratory, USDA-ARS, and based at the Rutgers P.E. Marucci Center for Blueberry and Cranberry Research and Extension in Chatsworth, NJ. He received a B.S. in Plant Science from Cornell University in 2014 and a Ph.D. in Applied Plant Sciences from the University of Minnesota in 2019, later working as a postdoctoral research associate with the University of Minnesota GEMS Informatics Initiative. In his leisure time, he enjoys biking, playing baseball, and fishing in the waters of his home state of New Jersey.

 

Research Interests:

The Neyhart lab conducts research to: i) develop new approaches to breed cranberries and other Vaccinium species; and ii) breed improved cranberry germplasm. This research involves quantitative genetic studies, simulations, high-throughput phenotyping and/or genomewide marker analysis, and field experiments.

 

Specific research interests include:

• Developing novel predictive breeding methods that integrate genomewide markers and high-throughput phenomics data to increase the efficiency and precision of cranberry improvement
• Understanding the interaction between genetics and environment to increase productivity, fruit quality, and disease resistance
• Designing pre-breeding schemes to introgress genetic variation from unimproved to elite germplasm
• Creating cranberry germplasm with improved fruit yield and quality, disease resistance, and abiotic stress tolerance

 

  Cranberry breeding plots at the P.E. Marucci Center

 

Peak flower bloom

 

Image-based phenotyping of cranberry breeding plots

 

Using thermal cameras to assess heat stress in cranberry

 

Berries suffering from field rot

 

USDA is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer