Larissa Larocca de Souza is a research technician at the University of Illinois in the lab of Don Ort. Her research focuses on introducing and evaluating synthetic photorespiratory bypasses in the chloroplast. For the RIPE project, Larissa is bringing her background in agronomy and horticulture to assist postdoctoral researchers improve photosynthetic efficiency in crops. Larissa received her bachelor’s degree in agronomic engineering from the University of Sao Paulo and she later earned her master’s degree in horticulture from Oregon State University. Her work is published in HortScience, Weed Science, and Weed Technology.