Nico Lingga is a researcher and Ph.D. candidate at the Department of Plant Science, University of California, Davis. His research focuses on postharvest treatment, plant genetics, and plant–microbiome interactions. He completed his master’s degree under Dr. Elizabeth Mitcham, focusing on modified atmosphere treatments and postharvest quality and taste traits in kale and lettuce. He is currently continuing his Ph.D. under Dr. Gail Taylor, studying how lettuce genes, morphology, and the phyllosphere microbiome affect shelf life. The overall goal of his research is to improve shelf life by developing molecular markers for breeding and analysing microbiome data from GWAS and commercial lines to link microbial variation with leaf surface traits.