About TriCal Diagnostics:
TriCal Diagnostics is a team of highly experienced plant pathology diagnosticians that has extensive knowledge of practical field plant pathology, microbiological and molecular identification techniques, plant pathology research, and production agriculture and horticulture. The first step in managing plant diseases is identifying the cause of such problems. Therefore, effective disease management relies on careful diagnosis. TriCal Diagnostics offers disease and plant problem identification services to growers, field personnel, pest control advisors, homeowners, the general public, and others throughout and beyond California. TriCal Diagnostics is a team that values service and provides accurate and timely diagnoses to clientele.
Staff
Our team possesses a rare combination of clinical lab expertise and in-field pathology experience.
Dr. Hanane Stanghellini, Director
Dr. Hanane Stanghellini has an extensive background in custom diagnostics, spanning over 28 years of research and private-sector expertise, including plant pathogens, functional genomics of nematodes, and disease resistance screening for vegetables and leafy greens. She received her Ph.D. from Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelm’s-Universität Bonn, where she studied rhizosphere-specific microbial communities. She furthered her research through two postdoctoral appointments at North Carolina State University: one investigating soil amendments and their impact on microbial structures, and the second in Nematology, focusing on the molecular and functional genomic analysis of soybean cyst nematode parasitism. From 2007 through 2017, she was the lead diagnostician at a commercial plant pathology laboratory that primarily served the leafy green and vineyard industries. Before becoming Lab Director at TriCal Diagnostics in 2026, Hanane served as Lab Manager.
Mahnaz Rashidi, Molecular Specialist
Dr. Mahnaz Rashidi received her Ph.D. in Plant Pathology from the University of Turin, Turin, Italy. She has broad experience in the study of biology and molecular biology of host-pathogen-vector interactions. She has a strong background in pathogen molecular diagnostics, the epidemiology of bacterial, phytoplasma, and viral pathogens and their vectors of different crops, and screening for disease resistance.
Hannah Zima, Assistant Lab Manager
Hannah Zima received an M.S. in Plant Pathology from the University of Arkansas, where she researched plant-disease interactions on various hosts such as cannabis and spinach. She has been involved with plant disease diagnostics and field trials for diseases on leafy greens. She is proficient in traditional as well as molecular lab techniques.
Jennifer Guerrero, Lab Technician
Jennifer Guerrero received her B.S. degree in Chemistry with a minor in Environmental Science from UC Merced, where she also worked as a research assistant in a Soil Biogeochemistry Lab exploring how physical disturbances in the environment affect soil organic matter dynamics. She was a lab technician at an analytical lab for five years where she was responsible for sample preparation and analysis, data recording, and report writing. She is proficient with various analytical instruments and experienced with developing SOPs and related documentation.
Miguel Martinez, Lab Technician
Miguel Martinez received his B.S. in Agricultural Plant & Soil Sciences from CSU Monterey Bay. Miguel has experience with various molecular techniques used for plant disease diagnostics. While working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, he focused on viruses affecting cucurbits and lettuce.
Lilly Cosio, Administrative Assistant
Lilly was born and raised in the outskirts of Watsonville and grew up surrounded by apple orchards. Her father worked for a locally owned apple company where Lilly would help him with organizing and completing paperwork. As TCD’s Administrative Assistant, she oversees front desk reception duties, manages package delivery and arrival, helps organize the office, and assists with lab sample tracking, data entry, client reports, and invoicing.
Dr. Kristi Sanchez, Research Director & Nematologist
Dr. Kristi Sanchez received her Ph.D. in Plant Pathology, specializing in Nematology, from UC Davis. She has extensive research and field experience while working at UC Davis, the agrichemical industry, and the California Department of Food and Agriculture. Her research background includes pest management of nematodes, morphological and molecular diagnostics of plant parasitic nematodes, and the development of nematode assays for the lab and field. Kristi focuses on nematode field research and diagnostics.