Education: Ph.D., Genetics & Genomics, North Carolina State University, 2026
B.S., Food Science (Minor in Horticulture), North Carolina State University, 2020
About: Felicia completed her doctoral research in the Blueberry Genetics and Genomics Laboratory at NC State in January 2026, where she investigated the genetic and molecular determinants of regeneration competence in highbush blueberry. Her work integrated functional genomics, plant biotechnology, and computational biology to develop genotype-independent transformation systems and identify regulatory pathways governing developmental plasticity in a polyploid crop species.
Publications
Kelso, F., White, E., Ascencio-Ibáñez, T., Da, K., Dewey, R. E., Liu, W., & Ashrafi, H. (2026). Unraveling morphogenetic pathways governing tissue culture, regeneration, and transformation in highbush blueberry (In Preparation).
Kelso, F., White, E., Farlow, B., Liu, W., Dewey, R. E., Da, K., & Ashrafi, H. (2026). Enhancing Vaccinium corymbosum regeneration by genome engineering. Acta Horticulturae. In press.
Kelso, F. (2026). Micropropagation and Translational Genomics Innovations for Highbush Blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum) Improvement (Dissertation).
Kelso, F., Da, K., Dewey, R. E., Reiland, D. S., Almeyda, C., Liu, W., & Ashrafi, H. (2025). Optimization of Adventitious Shoot Regeneration Protocols for Six Vaccinium corymbosum Cultivars. HortScience, 60(7), 1109–1117.
Shepard, F., Liu, W., Dewey, R. E., Da, K., Reiland, D., Almeyda-Becerra, C., & Ashrafi, H. (2025). Optimizing regeneration systems for highbush blueberries. Acta Horticulturae, 1440, 369–376.
Presentations
Leveraging Persephone for Genomic Insights into Blueberry Morphogenic Genes, Plant & Animal Genome Conference (PAG 32 & 33), San Diego, CA, 2025 & 2026
Advancements in Highbush Blueberry Regeneration Systems, 13th International Vaccinium Symposium, Canada, 2024
Enhancing Blueberry Regeneration by Genome Editing, 13th International Vaccinium Symposium, Canada, 2024
Optimization of Tissue Culture and Regeneration in Hard-to-Propagate Blueberry Genotypes, NC Blueberry Council Annual Meeting, 2023
Cuticle Wax Bloom Based Edible Coating, NC Agricultural Foundation Board Update, Raleigh, NC, 2022
Notable Achievements
North Carolina Biotechnology Center Flash Grant, Enhancing Blueberry Regeneration by Genome Engineering, 2024
North Carolina Biotechnology Center Flash Grant, Establishment of Transformation and Regeneration System in Highbush Blueberries, 2021
Genetics and Genomics Scholars Program, NC State University, 2020
