• Bioinformatics
• Comparative genomics
• Plant genetics
• Stress tolerance in plants
• Next generation sequencing

Publications:

Hawkins, A.K, Garza, E.R., Dietz, V.A., Hernandez, O.J., Hawkins, W.D., Burrell, A.M., and A.E. Pepper. (2017) Transcriptomic signatures of selection, drift, introgression, and gene duplication in the evolution of an endemic extremophyte. Genome Biology and Evolution.

Presentations:

Exploring serpentine tolerance in Caulanthus amplexicaulis through the integration of multiple genomic datasets; Rochester, Minnesota on July 24, 2018; oral presentation

Garza, E.R., Hawkins, A.K., & A.E. Pepper. Creating the foundations for a new model to study serpentine adaptation: Caulanthus amplexicaulis. April 2018 “TAMU DNA Day”-Texas A&M University, College Station, TX (poster).

Garza, E.R., Hawkins, A.K., & A.E. Pepper. Creating the foundations for a new model to study serpentine adaptation: Caulanthus amplexicaulis. February 2018 “Genetics Recruitment Symposium”-Texas A&M University, College Station, TX (poster).

Garza, E.R. & A.E. Pepper. Comparative genomics of adaptation to an extreme environment. September 2017 “GENE Retreat”-Montgomery, TX (oral).

Garza, E.R., Hawkins, A.K., & A.E. Pepper. Genome comparison of two Caulanthus varieties to identify possible loci contributing to serpentine tolerance. June 2017 “Botany 2017”-Fort Worth, TX (poster).

Garza, E.R., Hawkins, A.K., & A.E. Pepper. Using comparative genomics to identify serpentine tolerance genes in Caulanthus amplexicaulis var. barbarae. February 2017 “Genetics Recruitment Symposium”-Texas A&M University, College Station, TX (poster).

Garza, E.R., Hawkins, A.K., & A.E. Pepper. Creating a Caulanthus amplexicaulis genetic map to search for serpentine tolerance candidate genes. July 2016 “Botany 2016”-Savannah, GA (poster).

Garza, E.R., Hawkins, A.K., & A.E. Pepper. Creating a Caulanthus amplexicaulis genetic map to search for serpentine tolerance candidate genes. July 2016 “Plant Biology”-Austin, TX (poster).

Garza, E.R., Hawkins, A.K., & A.E. Pepper. Creating a Caulanthus amplexicaulis genetic map to search for serpentine tolerance candidate genes. June 2016 “Southeast Texas Evolutionary Genetics and Genomics (STEGG)”-Houston, TX (poster).

Garza, E.R., Hawkins, A.K., & A.E. Pepper. Creating a Caulanthus amplexicaulis genetic map to search for serpentine tolerance candidate genes. October 2015 “Stress Symposium”-College Station, TX (poster).

Garza, E.R., Hawkins, A.K., & A.E. Pepper. Creating a Caulanthus amplexicaulis genetic map to search for serpentine tolerance candidate genes. September 2015 “Student Post-Doc Research Conference (SPRC)”- College Station, TX (poster and data blitz).

Garza, E.R., Hawkins, A.K., & A.E. Pepper. Creating a Caulanthus amplexicaulis genetic map to search for serpentine tolerance candidate genes. February 2015 “Genetics Recruitment Symposium”-College Station, TX (poster).

Persans, M.W., Ruiz, F, Into, F., Garza, E.R., Cerino, Y, Yang, A, Lo, M, Bunagan, J, Hernandez, H, & Parsons, J. Comparison of metal tolerance mechanisms between non-accumulator and hyperaccumulator plant species in the Brassicaceae plant family. May 2012 “USDA HSI Education Grant Program Project
Directors’ Conference”-Edinburg, TX (poster).

Persans, M.W., Ruiz, F, Into, F., Garza, E.R., Cerino, Y, Yang, A, Lo, M, Bunagan, J, Hernandez, H, & Parsons, J. Comparison of metal tolerance mechanisms between non-accumulator and hyperaccumulator plant species in the Brassicaceae plant family. July 2012 “Plant Biology”-Austin, TX (poster).

Ruiz, R., Garza, E.R., M.W. Persans. Assessment of Oxidative Stress Gene Expression in the Brassicaceae Plant Family; Implications for the Genetic Engineering of Plants for Phytoremediation. March 2011 “Texas Academy of Science”-Austin, TX (poster).

Garza, E.R., Ruiz, F, Into, F.J., & M.W. Persans. Evaluation of the Metal Accumulation Properties of the Brassicaceae family: Implications for the engineering of plants for phytoremediation. September 2010 “USDA Leadership Conference”-Washington, D.C. (poster).