Reagan Reed, a Ph.D. candidate in Khanday Imtiyaz's lab at UC Davis, has a way of describing his research that might make a plant breeder pause.

“I’m the sort of person who likes to break things to understand them,” he says.

What he breaks are genes involved in seed germination. Reed is investigating whether changing those genes can help seeds establish healthy plants under a wider range of conditions.

Turning genetics into commercial impact requires more than technical skill, it requires guiding teams, influencing decisions, and aligning strategy.
That’s why the UC Davis Seed Biotechnology Center built the 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗕𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝘀𝘁𝘀.
• 𝗙𝗼𝗿 𝗕𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 & 𝗦𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝘀𝘁𝘀: Master the human side of innovation to maximize the impact of your work and elevate your career.

The 2027 International Pepper Conference is a 3-day conference, hosted by Allen Van Deynze. We welcome local and international growers, plant breeders and scientists, processors, equipment manufacturers and students.  The conference will include the latest developments in the peppers industry trends, technology, genomics, high throughput phenotyping and plant breeding. The tour will include visits to processors, grower fields and the latest in mechanical harvesting technologies.