Patricia Moreno Cadena

Patricia Moreno-Cadena is currently a Postdoctoral fellow at the Alliance and her research focus is on crop modeling. Before her current role, she worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Kentucky in the Agroecosystem Nutrient Cycling Research group, focusing on the development of an intercropping model in DSSAT (Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer) for cover crop mixtures. She earned her Ph.D. from the University of Florida, collaborating with IITA and CIAT on cassava modeling as part of the African Cassava Agronomy Initiative (ACAI) project.

Her research focused on developing a dry matter content model for cassava to evaluate root quality. She also holds a M.Sc. in Crop Physiology and a Bachelor's in Agronomy from Universidad Nacional de Colombia. Previously, she was a part of the CIAT family working as a research assistant for almost five years. Her work there focused on crop modeling, including niche-based models such as EcoCrop (crop suitability analysis under diverse climate change scenarios) and process-based models such as DSSAT.

Parallel to her research work, she enjoyed being part of different volunteer activities; while working at CIAT, she was part of the Social Services Committee and Board of Directors of the employee fund of CIAT. During part of her Ph.D., she was also the mentoring chair of the Graduate Student Organization of the Agricultural and Biological Engineering Department at the University of Florida. In addition, she volunteered in the Human Rights Coalition of Alachua County and the “Madres sin Fronteras” (Mother without Borders) organizations.
Patricia is based in the Nairobi office.