Mary Jane (Mjay) Espina has been named the Department of Agronomy and Plant Genetics’ 2025 Hayes Phillips Award winner.
Espina is a PhD candidate in the Applied Plant Sciences program. Her advisors are Bob Stupar and Aaron Lorenz. Her research focuses on identifying candidate genes that confer resistance to iron deficiency chlorosis in soybean.
Espina received her bachelor’s degree in plant pathology/phytopathology from Visayas State University in Baybay, Philippines in 2009. She received her master’s in plant sciences from Tennessee State University in 2016. Since coming to the APS program, Espina has received many accolades, including 2022 NAPB Borlaug Scholars, the 2021-22 MnDRIVE Global Food Ventures Fellow, and 2023-24 UMN Doctoral Dissertation Fellow. Last year, she was runner up for the Hayes Phillips Award.
Espina will be awarded at the annual Hayes Phillips Awards Program and Ceremony on Thursday, May 8, at 9:30 a.m. in 306 Borlaug Hall.
The program will also recognize APG’s Distinguished Alumni Awardees: Jim Luby and Marc Albertsen. Luby received his PhD in Plant Breeding and Genetics here in 1982 and then joined the Department of Horticultural Science here, where he led the fruit-breeding and genetics program for more than four decades. He retired in December. Albertsen received his PhD here in 1980 and went on to a career in plant genetics and agriculture. He retired as a Distinguished Laureate and Lead at Corteva Agriscience in 2022. The event will include presentations by the award winners and lightning talks by the Hayes Phillips runners up, graduate students Inés Rebollo and Lucas Roberts.
The May 8 festivities will begin at 8:30 a.m. with a light breakfast and panel discussion with Luby and Albertsen in Borlaug Commons. The program and ceremony will begin at 9:30 a.m. in 306 Borlaug and include presentations by the award winners and department recognitions.
The Hayes Phillips Award is named after two distinguished faculty members in the department: H. K. Hayes, a faculty member from 1915 to 1952, and Ronald L. Phillips, a faculty member from 1968 to 2010. Each year, the award is given to an APG graduate student who has excelled in academics, research, teaching, leadership, and service.
