OKLAHOMA STATE UNIVERSITY
Meet Our Team
The People Behind the Plants
Our team brings together faculty, staff, and students with interests spanning plant breeding, propagation, biotechnology, and ornamental crop evaluation. Meet the people contributing their skills, curiosity, and ideas to the Nguyen Lab.
Chi Nguyen, Ph.D.
Principal Investigator
Dr. Chi Nguyen leads the Ornamental and Nursery Crop Breeding Program at Oklahoma State University. Her research combines plant breeding, biotechnology, tissue culture, seed biology, and crop physiology to improve ornamental plants for regional production and landscape use. She earned her Ph.D. in Horticulture from the University of Florida, where she studied molecular and genetic approaches to crop stress tolerance. She especially enjoys helping students develop practical research skills and confidence as scientists. Beyond the lab, she enjoys floral design, camping, fishing, and trying new foods.
Teal Hendrickson Ph.D.
Research Specialist
Dr. Teal Hendrickson brings expertise in controlled-environment agriculture, plant physiology, hydroponics, aquaponics, soilless culture, and media-based production systems. She supports the lab’s breeding, propagation, tissue culture, greenhouse, and nursery evaluation projects, with particular emphasis on improving plant establishment and production consistency. Her background in controlled environments helps connect plant responses with the growing systems and production practices that shape crop performance.
Samantha Buie
M.S. Student
Samantha supports tissue culture, cytogenetics, and ornamental breeding research across the lab. An Oklahoma State University horticulture graduate, she developed her interest in applied plant science through undergraduate research, leadership, and work at the OSU Student Farm. Her current projects examine tissue culture methods and epigenetic stability in begonias, while her future graduate research will focus on bioinformatics and genetic transformation. Samantha was recognized as an OSU Senior of Significance and a Ferguson College Senior of Distinction.
Blayne Bradford
REEU Undergraduate Intern
Blayne majors in Plant and Soil Science at Texas Tech University and joined the lab through Oklahoma State University’s REEU program under the leadership of Dr. Charles Fontanier. His summer research explores aeroponic rooting and tissue culture methods for pawpaw, persimmon, and serviceberry. By improving multiplication, rooting, and plantlet recovery, his project supports the future use of these underutilized fruiting plants in edible landscapes, specialty crop production, and nursery systems.
Sandra Sweat
Undergraduate Researcher
Sandra is a senior at Oklahoma State University majoring in Plant Biology. Her research uses EMS mutagenesis to generate new variation in rhizomatous begonias, including changes in foliage color, pattern, texture, and plant form. She evaluates treated explants for survival, regeneration, visible variation, and trait stability, helping establish mutation-breeding methods for future begonia improvement. Outside the lab, Sandra enjoys reading, hiking, and investigating the many mysteries of lab contamination.
Kalie Kinsey
Undergraduate Researcher
Kalie majors in Urban Horticulture at Oklahoma State University and recently began exploring plant tissue culture and micropropagation in the Nguyen Lab. She is interested in learning how small pieces of plant tissue can be regenerated and multiplied to support ornamental breeding and production. Her enthusiasm for plants continues outside the lab through gardening and hands-on horticulture.