Washington da Silva

Gratis Faculty

---

Associate Scientist at The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station

Professional Credentials

BS, Agronomy Engineering, 2010, Universidade Federal de Viçosa (Brazil)

MS, Mycology and Bacteriology, 2013, Louisiana State University

PhD, Virology, 2018, Cornell University

Areas of Interest

• Virology
• Nanotechnology
• RNA interference (RNAi)

Research Projects/Interests

Dr. da Silva is a virologist with expertise in diagnoses, bioinformatics, nanotechnology, and molecular biology. He uses state of the art technologies to study the biology and ecology of viruses infecting important crops.

The top two priorities of his research program are to develop and improve molecular diagnostics for plant viruses and to develop virus control strategies with the ultimate goal of translating findings into plant virus disease management. He is currently investigating the potential of using nanoparticles as carriers of virus-derived dsRNA to control virus infections via RNA interference (RNAi). This same strategy is being tested, with collaborators from USA and Brazil, to control important fungal diseases of staple crops.

Currently accepting graduate students.

Websites

Washington da Silva CT Agricultural Experiment Station

Twitter – daSilvaLab1

Google Scholar