Alexia Fonseca

• Maintained and prioritized to-do-list and followed up to complete tasks on-time
• Collaborated with other departments to establish smooth implementation of operational processes and procedures
• Followed shipping and receiving procedures for goods and materials
• Communicated with collaborators and labor crews regarding plant needs and project execution
• Participated in tissue sampling for genotypic purpose
• Kept records to manage seed inventory
• Harvest of tomato fruit and lettuce plants to be processed for seed

• Provided support for breeder throughout greenhouse cycle
• Assisted with greenhouse and growth chamber processes from sowing to harvest of plants and seed
• Responsible for communicating with collaborators regarding needs for greenhouse and growth chambers settings or requests
• Participated in data collection and was responsible for keeping detailed records of plant progress throughout cycles
• Executed pollination plans requested by breeder

Responsible for discovery research to advance a collaboration with an external party to evaluate libraries of small molecules with plant antiviral properties in controlled environment.

• Experiment design, planning and implementation for efficacy evaluation
• Data collection and analysis for internal review and sharing to support advancement decisions
• Implementation of digital solutions for experimental data capture, storage and analysis
• Sample logistics and compliance with shipping regulations to distribute chemistries across sites for testing
• Ensuring compliance with state and federal permits for working with plant pathogens
• Responsible for ensuring seamless transition of lab activities into new building and training of new personnel on insect colony care and pathology assays
• Ensured lab activities and project advancement throughout pandemic restrictions.

Assisting the team in developing new screens for plant disease transmission and treatments in growth chambers and green houses.

• Improved disease transmission protocols for manual and Agrobacterium mediated infections
• Supported the development of small footprint assays based on leaf discs to minimize chemistry use and increase throughput
• Responsible for sampling, LIMS submissions and shipments of regulated samples across sites
• Responsible for maintenance of insect lab, and communication among different teams to support availability of plants, supplies and resources for running experiments.
• Responsible for generating Job Safety Analysis documents associated with the main tasks carried in the lab

Worked as technician in a high throughput ISO 9000 lab, focused on automated DNA extractions from bulk seeds or leaf tissue for rapid genotyping of plants supporting breeding decisions advancements..

• Sample receiving
• Troubleshooting issues with equipment necessary to complete DNA extraction process.
• Report any issues that could affect data quality to the correct personnel.
• Communicating with personnel to exchange information on how to make a process better.

While working on my education I supported myself by working in the food service area; I was initially hired as a crew member and was later promoted to manager.

• Training staff and ensuring compliance with all food safety requirements
• Monitored cash intake, increasing accuracy, and reducing discrepancies.
• Completed regular inventory counts to verify stock levels, address discrepancies, and forecast future needs.
• Opening and closing location

Worked as kitchen crew and was later promoted to shift manager.

• Trained employees and monitored for compliance with food safety and service standards
• Tracked inventory movement and forecasted for future needs
• Responsible for preparing cash drawers for upcoming shifts and keeping track of the stores petty cash