Rodrigo Olarte is a doctoral student in the department of Plant Pathology. He was born in the Philippines, but grew up near the San Francisco Bay Area (California). He received a B.A. in Molecular and Cell Biology with an emphasis in Cell and Developmental Biology at the University of California at Berkeley, and later completed a Masters in Plant Pathology at Cornell University in upstate New York. He is currently studying the ramifications of sex in regard to toxin heritability in experimental crosses of the fungus Aspergillus flavus and has a long-term goal of finding more effective ways of controlling this fungus in nature. He appreciates good food, art, music, honest company, and a nice fitting pair of designer jeans!