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 holds a BScH degree in Agricultural Engineering, as well as MSc and PhD degrees in Agronomy (Genetics and Plant Breeding). During his studies Marcio worked on physiological characterization of commercial Eucalyptus clones and implications for breeding. The work involved design of optimal strategies for growth traits and viability of early selection in eucalyptus clonal tests. Marcio is experienced in genetic parameter estimation, development of models to increase accuracy of selection and consequently improved genetic gains. During his PhD Marcio studied genotype x environment interaction of Eucalyptus clones. This project has been described in the special edition of the Forest Ecology and Management Journal: https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/forest-ecology-and-management/special-issue/105HD8378W8.
Marcio has also worked as a consultant in maize, hops, and Pinus breeding programs.
Marcio worked as a data analyst and executive coordinator of cooperative tree breeding programs at IPEF (Instituto de Pesquisa e Estudos Florestais – Forest Science and Research Institute) for two years.
Marcio joined AbacusBio in November 2022. His role involves breeding strategies and leveraging both traditional and innovative tools to promote advancements in food and fibre production.
His career highlights include:
- coordination of a tree breeding program in Brazil, designing breeding strategies and reporting results using statistics and business intelligence tools.
- practical application of simple and complex models in plant breeding, using pedigree-based and molecular-based approaches.
- teaching professional breeders from forestry companies in Brazil.
His focus within AbacusBio is:
- Breeding program design
- Breeding objective / trait prioritization
- Genetic model & evaluation
- G(BLUP) estimation
- Selection index
Projects involved in:
- Forest Genetics Breeding Program
- Puro – Breeding Program for Medicinal Cannabis
- Coprosma Breeding Project
- Gemview
- Bayer
