Dr. Narceo B. Bajet (he goes by Nars) is Assistant Manager/Senior Scientist with the Seed Health Services department (a department within Seed Quality Services). He joined Eurofins STA on February 2, 2009 bringing along a wealth of experience in both traditional and molecular plant pathology.
He received both his BS and MS degrees from the University of the Philippines Los Banos (UPLB) and his PhD from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Nars was a microbiologist with Seattle, WA-based IEH/Molecular Epidemiology, Inc. with the primary task of analyzing fresh produce, meat products and other environmental samples for human pathogens. In this position he also was tasked with ensuring delivery of quality service to clients, conducting internal technical proficiency audits and reviewing/improving internal testing protocols. Prior to that, Nars worked as a research plant pathologist with the USDA-ARS in Wapato, Washington (with concurrent appointment as Research Associate with Washington State University, Prosser, WA) and did research on the development of detection methods for tree fruit viruses; was a part-time microbiologist with the State Of Hawaii and did research on viruses of shrimps and moved on as field supervisor for Del Monte Fresh Produce in Kunia, Hawaii; was at CIMMYT, Mexico and IRRI, The Philippines and did research on maize pathology/breeding for resistance and rice virology, respectively. He has also spent time as a Professor at UPLB teaching Plant Pathology/Crop Protection.
In his position with Eurofins STA Laboratories he has been managing the seed health staff at the Colorado facility and interacting closely with the seed health staff at the California facility. Nars is the lead within the Seed Health Services department for test validations, protocol improvements, setting up comparative testing with other seed health professionals world-wide and ensuring a strong quality management program for the department.