Mason Chizk

Mason Chizk PhD

Driven by a passion to do more with less, Mason enjoys breaking down resource bottlenecks in breeding programs through pipeline development. His software-driven approach draws from applied field experience in plant breeding programs ranging from inbred seed crops to clonally propagated perennials. As a proponent of the ‘art of plant breeding’, Mason seeks to complement …

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Marcio Araujo

Marcio Araujo PhD

Marcio is a plant breeder specialized in design of breeding strategies, quantitative data analysis, and project management in plant breeding programs. He is passionate about science and technology and aways aiming to see the practical application of his work. Marcio believes that “in the business world, science without practical application is a dormant science”. Marcio …

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Caeli Richardson

Caeli Richardson PhD

Caeli discovered her passion for agriculture while working on a dairy farm in Canada. She broadened her practical experience on a local swine and cash crop operation before gaining a global perspective of on-farm challenges. Incorporating practical experience into her theoretical training allows Caeli to create innovative solutions to multifaceted problems.  She brings tremendous passion and positive …

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Megan Vasko

Megan Vasko MS

  Megan Vasko is a consultant at AbacusBio known for her adaptability, tenacity, and passion for digital whiteboard sessions. She’s primarily focused on programme management, namely AbacusBio’s largest collaboration to date, Bayer Crop Science. In her day to day, she takes the guesswork out of who is doing what, next. She keeps projects on track …

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Anouk Schurink

Anouk Schurink PhD

Anouk Schurink joined AbacusBio with her applied mindset and strong experience in horse breeding, quantitative genetics, genomic analyses, and genetic diversity. Born and raised on the countryside in the east of the Netherlands, Anouk got intrigued by Mendel’s Law in high school when attempting an assignment about the inheritance of flower colours. After obtaining a …

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Tom Kirk

Tom Kirk BCom

Tom’s background in finance, economics, and statistics provide a unique perspective on which clients can tap to understand insights about the trade-offs and economic issues facing the agricultural and food systems industries. Tom joined AbacusBio in 2014, firstly as an intern and then later as a consultant based in Edinburgh. His commerce background and ability …

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Leticia Lara

Letícia Lara PhD

Letícia joined us in our Edinburgh office as a consultant, bringing with her a highly specialised skillset in genetics and plant breeding. Originally from Brazil, Letícia gained a Bachelor and a Master’s degree from the Federal University of Lavras. She moved on to complete a PhD at the University of São Paulo. Her PhD looked at …

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Kathryn Grant

Kathryn Grant PhD

Kathryn Grant joined us in 2020 – based at our Edinburgh office. Originally from Oxford in the UK, she brings to us her strong experience in cereal crop genetics. Whilst a biology major during her undergraduate years at the University of Oxford, she became interested in food security after attending a few lectures throughout her …

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John Crowley

John Crowley PhD

John Crowley is the managing director of AbacusBio Canada, a subsidiary office established in 2023 in Alberta. He has a PhD in statistical genetics and over 15 years of experience in breeding and genetics, agri-business and data analytics initiatives.  John is passionate about delivering innovative and practical solutions that enhance the genetic potential, profitability, and …

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Ireti Balogun

Ireti Balogun PhD

Ireti is an applied plant and animal breeding consultant, supporting breeding program design and implementation. Her work on breeding program development includes quantifying plant and animal traits in economic terms and prioritizing traits to improve.  Ireti is proud of her work applying new and advanced tools to assess cassava trait improvement preferences of farmers. In …

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Luna Zhang

Luna Zhang PhD 张馨月 博士

Luna specialises in building mathematically-driven models, conducting analysis and producing visual reports for delivering insights for breeding, whether it is livestock or plant. Luna is passionate in transferring data into business insights. She has a fierce passion for communicating data to different audience groups using personalised visuals and storytelling techniques. Originally from China and having …

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Cheryl Quinton

Cheryl Quinton PhD

Cheryl specialises in breeding programs around the world. She enjoys teamwork and thrives in a collaborative environment, engaging closely with colleagues and clients to develop solutions and tools in quantitative genetics, breeding programs, and selection indexes for a wide range of species. Her work includes sheep, beef, dairy, fish, poultry, and crops species.  Cheryl joined …

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Luke Proctor

Luke Proctor MSc

Luke specialises in the implementation of on-farm research projects. His past experience on a variety of science and research projects has given him a broad understanding of scientific processes and how they relate to the agricultural industry. His role at AbacusBio includes working with sheep and cattle breeders on the application of DNA tests and …

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Madeleine Post (1)

Madeleine Post MSc

Madeleine joined us in May 2021, to extend our growing expertise in plant biotechnology. She recently finished a Master’s degree, looking at the biochemical and physiological effects of microplastic and phenanthrene toxicity (using marine macroalgae as a model). Originally from Hamburg, Madeleine spent a large portion of her childhood both in Europe and the Bay of …

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Loame Kok

Loamé Kok (Van Zyl) BSc

Loame first came to AbacusBio as an intern, while pursuing a genetics degree at the University of Otago. She is highly driven and brings her creative, pragmatic mindset towards her work at AbacusBio. At AbacusBio, she is involved in several projects looking at the development of practical packages to support the development of new plant products, …

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Bruno Santos

Bruno Santos PhD

Bruno focuses on promoting and disseminating breeding strategies to increase efficiency and sustainability in livestock and plant production. Bruno has a global understanding of the agricultural sector, combined with his expertise in development of breeding objectives, and practical application of genetic improvement principles. His approach is to deliver expertise with passion, customer centric focus and …

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Tim Byrne

Tim Byrne PhD

Tim has over 15 years of experience as an applied scientist and a consultant. His work mantra is simple: good scientists need to deliver impact, not just solutions. A broad thinker and an in-depth leader, Tim can help you identify investment and technology opportunities and successfully integrate them into businesses to thrive. He currently heads …

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