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Adam Famoso, the new breeder at the Rice Research Station.
Photo by Bruce Schultz
Adam Famoso started working at the H. Rouse Caffey Rice Research Station in May as a breeder.
Famoso grew up in Hamilton, New Jersey, between New York and Philadelphia. He received an associate degree from Paul Smith’s College in upstate New York in urban forestry.
He obtained a bachelor’s degree in horticulture from Penn State University, and then obtained his doctorate from Cornell University in plant breeding and genetics.
After graduate school, Famoso began his career with the seed company DuPont Pioneer. Based in the U.S., he focused on hybrid rice breeding in Asia, primarily in the Philippines and India. His work included developing breeding strategies and implementing the use of genetic markers in the breeding program.
In his first growing season at the Rice Research Station, Famoso is getting familiar with rice farming in Louisiana and operations at the research station.
“I’m trying to learn how things are done and understand why things are done a certain way,” he said.
Famoso will set up a lab for high-volume genotyping of new lines with the latest automated equipment to analyze DNA.
“Just a few years ago, something like this would not have been possible,” he said
Steve Linscombe, station director, said Famoso’s background in molecular genetics will make a significant contribution to the breeding program.
“We think he’s going to be a valuable long-term asset to the efforts here at the Rice Research Station,” Linscombe said.
The LSU AgCenter and the LSU College of Agriculture
