Horticultural Sciences

Kelly Balmant

Mailing Address:
Fifield Hall
2550 Hull Road
PO Box 110690
Gainesville, Florida 32611

Office: 2209 Fifield Hall
Phone: (352) 294-7546
E-mail: balmant@ufl.edu

Biography

Dr. Kelly Balmant is an Assistant Professor in Designing Biological Systems for breeding horticultural crops in the Horticultural Sciences Department. Dr. Balmant’s research is focused on consumer-oriented traits of horticultural crops. Her research program integrates multi-omics strategies to dissect the genetic and molecular basis of complex quality traits in crop plants, with a specific focus on flavor, nutritional content, and post-harvest shelf-life. The research combines transcriptomics (RNA-seq), single-cell RNA-seq (scRNA-seq), metabolomics, and genomics to identify key regulatory genes and pathways that influence these economically and nutritionally important traits. The long-term goal of her research is to translate these discoveries into molecular markers for breeding and to engineer or select for varieties with improved quality and shelf stability, tailored for both producers and consumers.

Dr. Balmant is also the Trait Biology Lead of the Crop Transformation Center at the University of Florida.

Educational Background
- PhD in Plant Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Florida (2016)
- MSc in Genetics and Plant Breeding, Federal University of Viçosa, Brazil (2011)
- BSc in Biology with a minor in Genetics and Molecular Biology, Federal University of Viçosa, Brazil (2009)

Teaching Responsibilities
- PCB5530 - Plant Molecular Biology and Genomics)
- GMS6231 - Genomics and Bioinformatics)
- HOS4313C - Laboratory Methods in Plant Molecular Biology