Faculty Overview

Ascencio-Ibanez, Jose (Trino) Trinidad

Teaching Assocciate Professor Molecular and Structural Biochemistry
trino_ascencio-ibanez@ncsu.edu
919-515-5736

José Trinidad Ascencio-Ibáñez (Trino) was born in Guadalajara, Jalisco (México). First of seven siblings to José Trinidad Ascencio-del Rio, MD(+) and María Elena Ibáñez-Santana, MD. He attended the Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara (UAG) where he obtained a Bachelor’s of Science in Biology. He pursued his B.Sc. thesis work at CINVESTAV (Center for Research and Advanced Studies) in Irapuato, Guanajuato, working with Pseudomonas syringae pv phaseolicola and beans. After his thesis he was hired as a Research Assistant in the Virology Laboratory at Cinvestav. Later he spent one year at Monsanto’s facilities in Chesterfield, MO for a transfer of technology agreement involving production and testing of virus-resistant transgenic potatoes. He went back to Mexico to keep working mainly with plant viruses and transgenic plants. His main interest at this point was geminiviruses infecting peppers. After ten years and an attempt to pursue a PhD degree that was shattered by a failing Mexican economy, he took on the offer of pursuing his degree in the Molecular and Structural Biochemistry Department at the North Carolina State University. He was offered an Assistant Professor position at the North Carolina State University where he teaches BCH452, BCH455 and BCH103. At the same time, he maintains a successful undergraduate research and training program (BURT-P). His research is focused mainly with plant-pathogen interactions, particularly geminiviruses, which he takes personally since they infect tomato, tomatillo and pepper, the main components of traditional Mexican salsa. Other research models pursued in the BURT-P are human genotyping, RNAi therapies against human and animal fungi and biofuel production in microalgae. Dr. Trino, as he is known by his students, also enjoys different hobbies, from photography to mountain bike riding to painting and ultimately musician-producer for two bands (La Mansion, rock and Nomada, rumba-flamenca), which have several printed CDs. You can even find them in iTunes !!!! At the moment, he is engaged in international research mainly with Tanzania, but is expanding to other countries in East Africa and in the future will try West Africa. His engagement is mainly as a consultant and trainer but he is also the PI for a grant interested in finding a gene that can confer resistance to geminiviruses.

Expertise:
Plant Genomics and Genetics | Biochemistry | Molecular Biology | Plant Physiology | Plant Pathology

Research Focus:

Geminivirus evolution and resistance. Plant responses to viruses. Senescence. Cell Cycle.

Language(s):
Spanish

Projects:
Identifying geminivirus resistant sequences in Manihot species of Mexican origin Research project
04/01/2017 - 12/31/2023
Funding Agency/Sponsor: Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF)
Institutional Partner:

NSF-PIRE: U.S. – East Africa Research and Education Partnership: Cassava mosaic disease – A paradigm for the evolution of insect-transmitted plant virus pathosystems Research project
11/01/2016 - 09/30/2023
Funding Agency/Sponsor: National Science Foundation (NSF)
Institutional Partner: Biosciences eastern and central Africa-International Livestock Research Institute (BecA-ILRI), Kenya

Identifying a key gene for resistance-breaking Satellites Development project
01/01/2013 - 04/30/2017
Funding Agency/Sponsor: Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) | Mikocheni Agricultural Research Institute (MARI)
Institutional Partner: Mikocheni Agricultural Research Institute (MARI), Tanzania

In situ hybridization and immunodetectin in geminivirus-infected cassava Development project
01/01/2013 - 12/31/2013
Funding Agency/Sponsor: Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF)
Institutional Partner: Mikocheni Agricultural Research Institute (MARI), Tanzania

Project Collaborations:
Cassava mosaic disease - A paradigm for the evolution of insect-transmitted plant virus pathosystems
11/01/2015 - 09/30/2023
Funding Agency/Sponsor: National Science Foundation (NSF)
Institutional Partner: Mikocheni Agricultural Research Institute (MARI), Tanzania | Rutgers University, USA | Auburn University (AU), USA | Biosciences eastern and central Africa-International Livestock Research Institute (BecA-ILRI), Kenya
U.S. East Africa Research and Education Partnership: Cassava Mosaic Disease - A Paradigm for the Evolution of Insect-transmitted Plant Virus Pathosystems
10/01/2015 - 09/30/2023
Funding Agency/Sponsor: National Science Foundation (NSF)
Institutional Partner: Biosciences eastern and central Africa-International Livestock Research Institute (BecA-ILRI), Kenya
Cassava Mosaic Disease susceptibility and resistance: Translation from Arabidopsis to cassava
08/23/2016 - 10/31/2022
Funding Agency/Sponsor: Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF)
Institutional Partner: Mikocheni Agricultural Research Institute (MARI), Tanzania