Jon Bančič

I am a TRAIN@Ed Research Fellow in plant breeding and statistical genetics in the HighlanderLab. My main project is in collaboration with an industrial partner, where we are developing a strategy for transitioning to genomic selection for their hybrid oilseed rape breeding program. Briefly, the work involves:

Goals:

• simulation of an actual oilseed rape breeding program with extension to genomic selection;
• development of the appropriate simulation of genotype by environment interactions;
• development of different strategies for an efficient transition to genomic selection;
• simulation and selection based on multiple important economic traits;
• optimization of cross selection strategies within each breeding stage.

I am also involved in other projects that deal with dominance simulation, simulation of plant breeding programs in AlphaSimR, and genetic analysis of finger millet.

I have a BSc in Biology (University of Ljubljana), an MSc in Plant Biology (Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences), and a PhD in Plant Breeding and Genetics (University of Edinburgh). During my PhD, I also took 60 cts of courses from an MSc in Quantitative Genetics and Genome Analysis (University of Edinburgh). In addition, I have experience working in the wet lab (DNA extractions, tissue cultures, qt-PCR, microscopy) and in the field/greenhouse/growth chambers (phenotyping, infection assays).

I am specifically interested in:

Programming language and software: