Dr. Jennifer Randall

Dr. Jennifer Randall is a Professor within the Department of Entomology, Plant Pathology, and Weed Science at New Mexico State University and the current director of the Molecular Biology and Interdisciplinary Life Sciences Graduate Program. Dr. Randall completed her B.S. in Biochemistry, a Master of Science degree in Molecular Biology with a minor in Toxicology and a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology studying plant genetics and development at New Mexico State University. As a post-doc, she studied Plant Pathology and began to study plant-microbe interactions.

Dr. Randall is a Plant Molecular Biologist and Plant Pathologist at New Mexico State University. She teaches ‘Experimental systems in Genetics’ , graduate level Bioinformatics, Microscopy, and several special topic courses at NMSU. She mentors undergraduate, graduate students, and post-doctoral associates. Her interests and research program focuses on the genetics and molecular mechanisms of plant development, plant-microbe interactions, and understanding the plant ‘innate’ immune system. There are a number of current projects within her laboratory that are focused on pecan. These include pecan rootstock development, molecular mechanisms of pecan flowering and how this relates to alternate bearing, pecan genetics in collaboration with USDA ARS Pecan Breeding and Genetics in College Station, Texas, USDA-SEFTNL Byron Georgia, Hudson Alpha, University of Georgia, Noble Foundation, University of Arizona, and the University of Tokyo. An investigation into the endophytic microbial community that is within pecan is also underway.

Dr. Randall is also a molecular plant pathologist and has diagnosed and researched several economically destructive pathogens on several crop species. Some of these diseases that are currently being researched in the Randall Lab include Pistachio Bushy Top caused by Rhodococcus spp. (Stamler et al., 2015a, Stamler et al., 2015b), Pecan bacterial leaf scorch caused by Xylella fastidiosa, chile root rot caused by Phytophthora capsici, and Phymatotrichum root rot.

Molly Austin

Molly is from Roswell, New Mexico. She studied at NMSU, earning her B.S. and M.S. of Animal Science in 2022 and 2024, respectively. While her background is in reproductive physiology of livestock species, she is excited to make the jump to pecan research with the Randall Lab. She started as a Laboratory Coordinator in August of 2024 and is looking forward to using her transferrable skills to conduct research, get involved in outreach, and coordinate activities of the lab.

Dr. Hormat Shadgou Rhein

Hormat graduated with her Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from NMSU during the pandemic in 2020. She did her research at Dr. Randall’s lab and the primary focus of her dissertation was identification of flowering genes in pecan using RNA-Seq. Hormat received her MS in Agricultural Biology from New Mexico State University in 2016 and her BS in Agricultural Engineering from University of Tehran, Iran in 2010. She completed post-doc training at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas and now does bioinformatics consulting for the Randall lab.

Kaitlyn Mason

Kaitlyn joined Dr. Randall’s team as a high school senior through the EXCEL internship program. In 2017, she graduated from Arrowhead Park Early College High School with an Associates of Science and an Associates of Arts from DACC. She has been working in the lab since she graduated and has been pursuing her Bachelors in Genetics and Biotechnology at NMSU. Kaitlyn has worked on several projects in the Randall lab including antibiotic treatments of Xyllela fastidiosa micronutrient assays, and flowering gene bioinformatics for pecan. She completed her BS May 2021 and her MS in molecular biology in 2023 at NMSU. Kaitlyn works as the grant coordinator for the USDA funded 'Trees for the Future, grant.

Paul Oladimeji Gabriel

Paul Oladimeji Gabriel is from Nigeria where he received his Bachelors and Masters of Technology degrees in Microbiology and Food Microbiology respectively. He is currently pursuing a PhD in molecular biology at NMSU under Dr. Randall’s supervision with a focus on pecan microbiome and the gene expressions of pecan roots and nutrient uptake channels.

Anna Harmon

Anna is from Owasso, Oklahoma. She graduated from Oklahoma Baptist University in May 2020 with her Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry. She graduated from New Mexico State University in December 2022 with her Master of Science in Molecular Biology & Interdisciplinary Life Sciences. Her research, conducted in the labs of Dr. Elba Serrano and Dr. Jennifer Randall, studied the effects of hypergravity on seed germination and root extension in crop plants. Anna is now pursuing a PhD in Molecular Biology & Interdisciplinary Life Sciences under Dr. Randall’s guidance.

Alexa Arnedo

Alexa is from El Paso, Texas, she graduated in spring 2023 from New Mexico State University with her B.S. in Agriculture majoring in Agriculture Biology. While pursuing her bachelor's Alexa worked under Dr.Walker in the extension department doing research in chile and uncommon vegetables. Alexa is now pursuing a master of science in molecular biology under Dr.Randall.

Sahithi Reddy Pulicherla

Sahithi is from India where she completed her Bachelors of science with a major in Agriculture and Masters in Genetics and Plant Breeding in which she had worked on Phenotypic and molecular characterization of Castor. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Molecular Biology and Interdisciplinary life sciences at NSMU under the supervision of Dr.Randall and she is working on studying the genetics of abiotic stress responses in pecan.

Lily Chavez

Lily is from Roswell, New Mexico. She graduated from New Mexico State University in May 2023 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Microbiology with a minor in Chemistry. She joined the lab in Spring 2025 to pursue a Master of Science degree under the guidance of Dr. Jennifer Randall. Her main interest of research is focused on the micronutrient transport related genes in pecan. She is also researching integrative artificial intelligence tools for the use of phenotyping pecan tree bud break.

Samuel Smith

Samuel is from Las Cruces New Mexico where he graduated from Centennial high school. He is currently pursuing his bachelors of science in Entymology at NMSU and is currently a junior. His fascination with insects has been there since he was a kid, but his goal with his degree is teach people about the importance of insects to our world. He joined the Randall lab in 2023 to get experience in labwork. At this time he does not know what he wants to do with his bachelors but he is excited to explore the field and its options. Sam enjoys sports, video games, and theater including acting and singing.

Isabella Martinez

Isabella Martinez is from Mora, New Mexico. This is her first year at New Mexico State University and is pursuing a degree in Kinesiology. She was introduced to the Randall Lab by a friend and previously worked at John T. Harrington Forestry Research Center.