Position Title
Leaders for the Future Fellow
Pelin Yüksel
Pelin Yüksel is a Ph.D. candidate in horticulture and agronomy at UC Davis, specializing in plant breeding, genetics, and pathology. Her research focuses on developing lettuce that is resistant to downy mildew, a disease causing major economic losses. She uses traditional breeding, next-generation sequencing, and genome editing to transfer resistance from wild lettuce into cultivated crops, helping reduce chemical use and yield losses and shorten breeding by years.
Originally from Antalya, Türkiye, a hub of greenhouse production, Pelin witnessed the challenges farmers face and was motivated to help. She earned a B.S. in molecular biology, genetics, and bioengineering from Sabancı University and hopes her work will support her father’s seed company and local farmers by reducing yield losses and advancing sustainable production.