Dr. Moira Sheehan joined Breeding Insight as the Director shortly after its inception in 2018. She received her Ph.D. in Plant Biology from Cornell University in Tom Brutnell’s lab on light signaling pathways in maize and completed her Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Virginia Tech. She received a USDA-ARS postdoctoral fellowship to study meiotic pairing in maize for three years in Dr. Wojtek Pawlowski’s lab in Plant Breeding at Cornell University. At the end of that grant, she took a Research Assistant postdoctoral position in Dr. Ed Buckler IV’s lab at Cornell University studying maize plant height QTLs, biofuel grass genomics, and aberrations in polyploidy. After these two postdoctoral appointments, she went on to work for Nature Source Improved Plants (previously Nature Source Genetics) as a Research Scientist and Project Manager for nine years. In that time, she worked with 12 different crops to help major and small seed companies optimize their breeding pipelines. Moira’s expertise is in molecular breeding, polyploidy, specialty crop breeding, technology transfer, project management, and breaking things to make something better.

Craig Beil, PhD has worked in plant breeding for the last 10 years. He joined Breeding Insight in June 2021. He has a Bachelor’s degree in Agronomy from Truman State University, a Master’s degree in Bioagricultural Sciences and Pest Management from Colorado State University, and a Ph.D. in Wheat Breeding from Colorado State University. Craig worked in industry, breeding tropical papaya (Carica papaya) and semi-tropical castor (Ricinus communis) for southern and northern Mexico, respectively. Craig is particularly interested in how genetic diversity can best be used in a regional breeding program and how germplasm exchange between programs can be enhanced and best utilized to make genetic gains.

Shawn Yarnes is Breeding Insight’s Product Owner. Her primary role is as a business analysis, identifying and prioritizing requirements for Breeding Insight’s DeltaBreed software. Shawn holds a PhD in Molecular Biology and has been involved in numerous plant breeding and research projects. For the past decade she has worked to support plant breeders with software solutions. She lives in California with her husband, two sons, and various pets.

Alex joined Breeding Insight in October of 2022. She grew up in Brazil where she obtained her BS. in Agronomy and MSc. in Genetics. She then moved to the US to pursue her PhD at Cornell University where she graduated with a major in Plant Genetics and a minor in International Agriculture. At Breeding Insight, Alex is eager to apply her technical and managerial skills to advance breeding goals and to train breeders and researchers on BI’s latest tools and technologies. She lives in sunny -- sometimes stormy -- Florida where she enjoys gardening and spending time with her spouse and their two cats.

Josue has been a part of Breeding Insight since August 2023. He has a BSc in Agricultural Production from Zamorano University in Honduras and a MSc and PhD from Iowa State University where he was trained in animal breeding and genetics. Josue has research experience with multiple species including fish, cattle and goats as well as extension experience working with swine producers to maximize the efficiency of their genetic programs. As the animal breeding coordinator, Josue assists USDA-ARS breeders implementing new technologies and methodologies to increase the rate of genetic gains in their programs. He also functions as a project manager coordinating assets within the Breeding Insight team to tackle the challenges USDA-ARS breeders face.

Edwin Reidel was inspired to study plants after landing a undergraduate Work-Study job in the UC Davis Horticulture Department. He eventually earned a MS in Horticulture & Agronomy -- also at UC Davis, followed by a PhD emphasizing plant physiology and molecular biology at Cornell University. After a stint in seed production research, Edwin migrated to business development roles for over a decade, gaining further expertise in technologies for measuring plants. Some career highlights include performing breeding crosses resulting in the release of new walnut varieties, solving a problem in onion seed processing that was costing millions annually in losses, winning a contract for the world's largest outdoor plant phenotyping system, and helping to launch a software startup focused on drone image analysis in breeding. He enjoys Nordic skiing and running ultramarathons for fun in the Pacific Northwest.

Manoj is a dedicated researcher currently serving as a Genomics Postdoctoral Associate at Breeding Insight, Cornell University. He earned his Ph.D. in Plant Breeding, Genetics and Genomics from the University of Georgia (UGA), where his research focused on unraveling the genetic basis of fruit flavor volatiles in tomatoes. Manoj also holds a B.S. in Agriculture from Tribhuvan University, Nepal, with a major in Plant Breeding. At Breeding Insight, Manoj actively collaborates with USDA breeders on diverse projects, delving into genetic diversity exploration, QTL mapping, GWAS, and genomic selections for specialty crops like alfalfa, lettuce, blueberry, and cucumber. Proficient in genomic and bioinformatics analysis, he excels in developing efficient breeding strategies. His skill set encompasses marker-assisted selection, gene editing, cloning, and other cutting-edge techniques, significantly contributing to the progress of plant breeding technologies.
Beyond his research endeavors, Manoj engages actively in campus and community activities. His leadership experience includes serving as the President of the Nepalese Students Association at UGA and participating as a member of the Postdoctoral Association at Cornell University. This involvement underscores his commitment to fostering a collaborative and vibrant academic community.
Manoj's dedication to advancing plant breeding agricultural science makes him a valuable asset to Breeding Insight and the broader research community. In his free time, Manoj enjoys traveling, adding a dynamic dimension to his life. For more information, you can explore his professional journey on his personal website (https://manoj34sapkota.github.io/).

Tyr joined Breeding Insight in February 2023 as its Biometrics Coordinator. He obtained his BA in Biology from Northwestern University and his PhD in Plant Breeding & Genetics from Cornell University, where he studied disease resistance in maize and developed machine learning models for plant disease detection from aerial photos. After graduating from Cornell in 2019, he worked for four years as the Oat Breeder for PepsiCo/Quaker Oats. In his time running North America’s largest (and newest) oat breeding program, he created the program’s first genomic selection pipeline, oversaw its first seed certification, and redesigned its breeding scheme to bring varieties to commercial trials two years faster.
As BI’s Biometrics Coordinator, he works on a range of projects related to phenotype capture and analysis, helping breeders measure their key traits as quickly and correctly as possible.

Dongyan joined Breeding Insight in April of 2019. She is a trained plant geneticist and genomicist with a Ph.D. degree in Plant Breeding, Genetics, and Biotechnology from Michigan State University. Her expertise includes comparative genomics in rice and maize, small transferring RNAs in blueberry and cherry, genome assembly and annotation of Camptotheca, and research on various species from the Lamiaceae family, including teak. Since joining Breeding Insight, Dongyan has spearheaded the development of mid-density genotyping panels for blueberry, alfalfa, sweetpotato, and salmon, facilitating routine genotyping for breeders of these specialty species. In her role as Genomics Lead, she leverages her expertise in genomics and genetics to assist USDA-ARS breeding programs in adopting genomics and informatics for efficient genetic gain.

Shahana joined the BI Software Development team as a Quality Assurance Analyst. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science and has over 10 years of experience as a QA analyst, working in industries such as healthcare, finance, and telecommunications. Her primary responsibility at BI is to ensure that the software developed by the team meets all the requirements and adheres to the highest quality standards. Additionally, she is responsible for detecting any bugs in the application and ensuring that no new ones are introduced during the development process. She works from her home in Long Island, NY, and is entirely remote.

Since joining Breeding Insight in May 2021, Heather has worked as an Application Programmer. She has a foundation in both programming and life sciences with a Bachelor’s and Master’s in Molecular Biology and Computer Science from MIT. Prior to BI, she worked as a software developer at Intersystems, creating tools to facilitate recording data for a hospital laboratory information system. She brings this experience to the realm of plant breeding, collaborating with developers and scientists on the DeltaBreed platform.