Management Team

Dario is Professor and Louis P. Martini Endowed Chair in the Department of Viticulture and Enology at UC Davis. Dario leads Objective 1: Genes on the shelf, using curated genome assembly, genetic association, functional annotation, and gene expression to prioritize PM candidate genes identified in previous VitisGen projects for functional validation. 

Kate received her M.S. in Applied Plant Sciences from the University of Minnesota Department of Horticultural Science in January of 2023. Her role in the project includes facilitating communications between teams and institutions, coordinating Extension & Outreach activities, and assisting with UMN's VitisGen3 research responsibilities. 

Dr. Yue earned her Ph.D. in Economics in 2006 from Iowa State University and holds the Bachman Endowed Chair in Horticultural Marketing. Her leadership will be invaluable in investigating consumer preferences for disease-resistant cultivars in the context of "information overloading" while making purchasing decisions in a competitive market; and using eye-tracking technology to improve the label design for products from disease-resistant cultivars.

Dr. Cadle-Davidson leads the team for Objective 2: Tools-in-the-toolbox. This objective aims to enrich germplasm in breeding programs for traits of interest using low-cost, data-driven solutions including computer vision for uniform data acquisition and support user-friendly DNA marker solutions. 

Dr. Clark is the Program Director and one of the leaders of Objective 3: Sticks-in-the-ground. As a member of both the Breeding and Extension & Outreach teams, he will contribute to equipping regional Extension programs with management tools for resistant vines which can readily integrated into current production practices. He will also work on advancing resistant selections to multi-state testing. Dr. Clark's Ph.D. is in Applied Plant Sciences from the University of Minnesota (2014).